Archive of Our Own

Aizawa rapped his knuckles on his co-workers door, with little regard as to the noise inside the teacher’s dorms. “Hizashi, open up.” Eri clung to his legs as if he were a father penguin and she was the egg. “Don’t worry Eri, you’ll be fine.”

As he was comforting the young girl the door in front of them swung open.

Hizashi Yamada answered, hair pulled down from its usual swooping style that made the DJ look more like a cockatoo than a human. “Eraser....” Hizashi drawled from his half-asleep state, slumped against one side of the door frame. “What’s up? It’s already late isn’t it?”

Aizawa straightened his back as he replied. “It’s Eri, I need someone to watch her this week, the hero commission is sending me on a last-minute mission and I won’t be able to take her with me.” Aizawa was to-the-point- if Hizashi couldn’t help him he wanted as much time as possible to go find someone else before he had to leave.

“Ohh, Eri?” Hizashi scratched his chin and looked down at the girl in question. Aizawa had adopted her after the events concerning the rescue mission at the Shie Hassaikai base. He’d never come across as the fatherly type, but Hizashi had supported his friend since high-school and that wasn’t about to stop now. She was a kind girl, she’d definitely been through some awful things in the past, though. It was amazing to see Aizawa being a parent so suddenly, he wasn’t even married! “I could watch her for sure!” He gave the little girl a comforting pat on the top of her head. 

Aizawa gave a small nod. “You’d be taking on a lot of responsibility, she’s not as easy to take care of as a cat.” Aizawa motioned to the tan-colored feline that shared a room with the blond man. “You’ll need to take her to her different appointments, dress her, cook for her, and help teach her to read and write. She needs a lot of extra attention.”

Hizashi ‘tsk’ed. “I know how to watch a child Shouta, I babysat for my family all the time. “ His face pulled into a gentle smile. “You’ll love it with me, Eri. I’m sure your grumpy father doesn’t let you do all sorts of fun stuff.” He poked his tongue out at a disgruntled Aizawa.

“She doesn’t need any more bad influences, Mic.” He sighed. “Just tell me you’ll take this seriously.”

“Of course. Just leave her with me when you’re going to leave. I’ll set up a bed for her here.” Hizashi wasn’t the most serious adult at UA, but he was accountable and often called upon to do favors for friends. Some people might call him a push-over.

Eri looked up at her adoptive father with slight anxiety behind her expression. She was nervous after all, this would be the first time out of Aizawa’s care since he had adopted her many months ago. Would she really be okay without him?

Aizawa hugged her close to his body. “It’ll be totally fine. Mic will take good care of you while I’m gone, and before you know it I’ll be back. Don’t worry at all, Eri.”

The girl shook the fear from her face and hugged her father tighter. “O-okay…”

Aizawa turned back to Hizashi. “Thank you Hizashi, make sure to text me if you need anything, I’ll try to have my phone on when possible.” He didn’t know how undercover this next mission would be, but he hoped to keep updated on how his daughter was doing while he was gone. “I’ll leave a list for all of her specific needs as well as the appointment dates.” 

Hizashi gave him a bright smile to dispel any doubts he had. “It’ll be great! We can make it a whole week of fun, right Eri?”

Eri had spent a good amount of time with him before, she liked to sit in the teacher’s lounge and watch TV there, so they had gotten used to each other. Mic made a lot of jokes and did voices when she asked him, he was pretty fun to be around. “Right.” 

Aizawa gave Hizashi a small smile, something so rare from the grumpy teacher. “Thank you again, I’ll be leaving tomorrow night sometime around 9pm, is that enough time to get everything ready by yourself or should I stop by early to help?”

Hizashi hummed. “No, that’s fine. I can set things up by myself- I’ll need to call the station and move some things around, but other than that I can handle it.” He couldn’t be going out to the station in the middle of the night while watching a 7-year old. “Maybe drop off her bedding and some clothes so I can put them away.”

Aizawa nodded curtly. “I’ll do that.” He motioned for Eri. “C’mon Eri we’ve got to pack your things.”

The girl didn’t seem too enthusiastic but she followed Aizawa obediently. Before walking down the hall she turned to Hizashi and bowed her head slightly. “Thank you Mr. Mic.”

Hizashi let out a small surprised laugh. “Of course little listener!” His hand once again brushed against the top of her head in a comforting manner. She was almost too sweet for her own good. This week would be no trouble at all with such a well-behaved and kind little girl to watch over.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Was Hizashi a selfish man? No. Was he taking on some extra responsibility for the tiny tiny chance that Shouta might return his feelings someday? So what. The two had been friends for more than half their lives, and for almost as much time Hizashi had been harboring the most embarrassing crush on Shouta imaginable. It hadn’t gone anywhere though, which had steadily quashed his feelings over the years, but in moments like these, where Shouta was being open and honest with his emotions, and where he let the inner softie shine through, Hizashi had the familiar heat rush to his cheeks and found himself at a loss for words. 

“You really don’t have to do that, Shouta. I can set the bed up myself fine- I told you last night.”

Aizawa brushed him off. “I want to make sure everything is perfect, just let me help you get everything done.” He wiped the sweat off his brow and lifted the metal cot. He’d shown up more than an hour early to check over Hizashi’s room and clean up. Most of the work was done, and Hizashi was already an exceptionally tidy person. “Will you hand me the sheets?”

Hizashi let out a small sigh of endearment as he passed Eri’s things. Aizawa looked adorable with his hair tied up out of his face, struggling with oversized cat sheets and pillows. “You’re ridiculous.” He chided his friend lightheartedly, smacking him on the arm with a small plush animal.

Aizawa huffed. “ I’m the ridiculous one, huh?” He smirked mischievously. “I suppose you want me to forget about the frozen yogurt incident? Or that time at the karaoke bar-?”

“Enough, enough!” Hizashi flushed at the memories his friend had dredged up. “Goodness Aizawa, there are kids here!” He gestured to Eri, who giggled atop her pillow throne. 

“Just help me with the bed then.” Aizawa pulled one corner of the fitted sheet taut and Hizashi grabbed the other. Once the bed was neatly covered they began to pile on the blankets. Eri had a multitude of plush friends that they sat up against her pillows. The bed looked so comfy Hizashi had trouble not jumping into it himself. 

“Thank you for the help, now are you sure you have everything you need for the trip?” Hizashi cocked one hip out as he questioned the other man. “Toothbrush, comb, shampoo, razor, conditioner, changes of clothes, a suit? Oh, what about those funny jelly packs you like to drink?”

Aizawa grumbled. “I don’t need an itemized list. You’re not my wife.” He pulled his hair back with one hand as he dismissed Hizashi’s incessant questioning. 

Hizashi furrowed his brow in annoyance. “Well I didn’t say that! I just want to make sure you don’t forget anything, you know?” He huffed. “Plus, I would be your husband , not your wife...” Hizashi chided himself, perhaps Aizawa was just a bit too nervous about the trip to be joking right now. 

Against his expectation Aizawa let out a small huff of a laugh. “Right. My very needy and annoying husband.” He let the end of his sentence trail away from him as he continued to survey the room for anything he could fix for his daughter.

Hizashi let his heart flutter, it was a joke, nothing serious in nature, but if he let his mind stray towards those domestic scenarios it was nobody else’s business. Hizashi pulled his sweater sleeve up and glanced at his flashy watchface. It was already past 8:30. Had they really been cleaning for more than an hour? 

“Oi, you should be getting going now. You’ll miss your flight if you keep hanging around any longer.”

Aizawa cursed under his breath, no doubt something he was training out his vocabulary for the sake of the small girl in his care. “You’re right. You sure you’ll be fine? Should I ask Kayama to come help out too?”

Hizashi placed his hands on Aizawa’s back and gently guided him to the door of his dorm. “I’ll be totally fine, make sure to text me when you get to the airport, okay? And when you land too! I’ll be waiting on you.” He smoothed down the other man’s shirt from where it had ridden up during their impromptu room reorganization. 

Aizawa looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but he nodded and gave Hizashi a soft affirmation. “I will…” There was a small pause. “Send me pictures, okay?” Aizawa’s cheeks flushed a deep crimson color, as if asking had taken every ounce of courage he had.

Hizashi laughed. “Of course, I’ll send lots.” He winked and held his hand out for Eri to take it. “Eri come say bye to your dad!”

Eri scrambled from her small pillow fort and yanked on her father’s long sleeved shirt. “Wait!”

Aizawa quirked one eyebrow up as the girl rummaged through the pockets of her overalls. He glanced at Hizashi who simply shrugged.

“I made you something.” Eri’s voice was sweet as honey. “It’ll keep you safe on the trip!” The little girl pulled out a card as well as a small toy. 

Aizawa knelt down and took the items from her much smaller hands. The card read “I love you Dad” with a backwards “e” and “a”. The toy she had handed him appeared to be made out of some type of clay or play-doh. The features were hard to make out, as if they had been scratched in by her nail. Between the wobbly whiskers and floppy ears Aizawa could tell it was supposed to be a kitten. He held the items close to his chest and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Thank you sweetie, I love them.” 

She smiled and hugged Aizawa around the shoulders. “‘M gonna miss you lots.” Her eyes watered and she smooshed her face into his shoulder, dampening the dark fabric.

Aizawa sighed. He knew it would be tough, but this was seriously hard to go through with. “I know, I’m gonna miss you too.” He pulled her up in his arms and carried her. “You’re gonna be safe with Hizashi, though. He’ll take good care of you until I get back.”

Hizashi tried to cheer her up with a reassuring smile and some finger guns. “Yeah!”

In truth, he was quite nervous. He and Aizawa were very different people, and Eri would most likely be used to a very different style of parenting. He just hoped she wouldn’t hate him by the time her father came back. 

Aizawa placed her gingerly back on the ground and smoothed down her hair, careful to avoid the horn. “You get ready for bed now, okay? Put your jammies on and brush your teeth. It’s already past your bedtime.” When she went to leave he turned to Hizashi. “Watch over her, okay? I’ll text you as soon as I touch down.” 

“Of course. Be safe, okay?” Hizashi saw him out the door, gave him his suitcase and helped him put on his jacket. It was comfortingly domestic, and Hizashi found himself thinking back to Aizawa’s earlier statement. 

His husband. 

He tried to wipe the blush off his face and gave his friend a nervous and giddy smile. “I’ll miss you too, y’know.” His heart seemed to get caught in his throat as he let his feelings slip past his lips. Why was it only so hard to express himself to his best friend?

Aizawa’s eyes refused to meet him. “Uh. I’ll miss you too.” The usually grumpy hero sucked in his bottom lip. “Thank you again, Hizashi.”

Hizashi brushed a loose piece of hair behind Aizawa’s ear. “Don’t mention it.” The air between them felt electric, were their lips always so close…? His heart seemed to skip a beat before his brain caught up with his actions. “Ah- you’ll be late.” His hands instantly sprung back to his sides. “Have a safe trip, Shou!” 

Aizawa’s expression sharpened. “Yes-right.” He turned and gave Hizashi a side-hug with his free arm. “Text me if you have any trouble.” He gave one last long look to his friend. “Bye, Hizashi.”

“Bye Shou.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa had done just as he said, right as Eri was going down for bed Hizashi got a text that lit up his phone from the nightstand. It was simple: 

Shouta: Boarding now. How’s Eri?

Hizashi set down the storybook he’d been reading to Eri and grabbed the phone by its charm strap. “One second Eri- your daddy just texted.” He sent back a quick reply: 

Hizashi: she’s fine!!! how are you? is everything ok?

Aizawa didn’t spare words, in conversation or over text, which made it even harder to read his tone over the phone than in-person. 

Shouta: It’s alright.

Hizashi hummed. “Hey sweetie, you wanna take a picture for dad?” 

Eri was even more enthusiastic than he had expected. “Yes!!!” She grabbed the nearest plushie and clutched it to her chest. “I want Miss Piggles in the picture too!”

Hizashi laughed. “Of course!” He opened the camera app on his phone and steadied it. “Ready?” She looked absolutely adorable propped up in the bed with her blankets and stuffed animals.

“Wait-” She shuffled around, leaning on one side of the mattress and making a space next to her. “Now we can both be in the picture!” Her smile was contagious to say the least.

Hizashi’s heart filled with affection- how could he ever say no to that face? “Right!” He leaned back into the pillows and switched the camera to the selfie setting. “Say cheese!”

“Cheeeeeese!”

The picture came out great, and on the first try no less. Hizashi had a new competitor for most-photogenic individual at UA.

Without hesitation he sent the photo off to Aizawa without hesitation. The two of them made quite a pair, with Eri’s mussed up hair, and Hizashi’s glasses that had slipped down his nose. It was cute! 

He typed out a few heart emojis to accompany the picture before deleting them, maybe that would be a bit weird. He’d sent some more than flirtatious texts to Aizawa before, to no avail, but for some reason he felt hesitant this time. Before he could make a decision, Aizawa sent a heart back.

 Well, that would be plaguing his mind for the next 5 years. 

Obviously the heart emoji was meant for Eri, but his lonely gay heart would take any and all fuel it could to stoke the pining flames that consumed his thoughts. Aside from the heart Aizawa sent another text:

Shouta: Cute. Phones off now, sorry. I’ll text you later.

Hizashi calmed his nerves and responded:

Hizashi: of course! ttyl!

He set the phone back down on the nightstand and picked up the book. “Now, where were we again?”

He turned to see Eri had already nodded off. Well, that was quick, she fell asleep almost as fast as Aizawa!

Hizashi stood to turn off the light and set down her storybook. “Goodnight, Eri.” He pulled up the blanket around her chin and left her to rest.

Now to find something to get his mind off his romantic troubles. Maybe something good was on TV.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Aizawa slumped down on the cool mattress and let his exhaustion seep into the sheets. After being driven to the airport and boarding he’d taken a nap on the plane. There wasn’t much else to do, and avoiding his… complicated feelings for his friend were difficult when said friend had bombarded him with the cutest photo he’d ever seen in his life.

Well, to be fair, any photo of Hizashi’s smile could make him flustered. 

Aizawa Shouta was not a selfish man, but approaching Hizashi to watch over Eri wasn’t only because he trusted him. It was hard finding excuses to spend time with Hizashi out of work, maybe this would help. After high school the two had kept in touch, but he still never found the courage to confess his crush. He’d been hanging on to these troublesome feelings for more than a decade now and it was getting old… Working together, eating lunch together, teaching at the same school, he’d never get over his crush if they were going to stay attached at the hip like this… but he didn’t want to get over his feelings, either.  

Hizashi was an incredible person, he was an amazing performer, he was a great hero. His over-the-top personality often led people to underestimate him, but Aizawa knew that there was far more to Hizashi than his Present Mic persona. 

If Aizawa wasn’t so cowardly he might have a shot.

Aizawa rolled onto his back and brought his phone out of his pocket and up to his face, his eyes burned from the brightness of the screen. He clicked on the photo Hizashi sent and looked at it again. It was obvious Eri was just about to go to bed, covers tucked up around her hips and pink pajamas covering the rest of her. Hizashi was leaning over and smiling at the camera, the same smile that gave him butterflies since the 10th grade… He quickly saved the photo and set the phone down on the bed. 

It was a nice room, a little too cold from the air conditioner that seemed to be constantly running, but fine otherwise. The lobby had been ornate and sprawling, but the rooms were simply decorated with a large glass window facing towards the more busy parts of the city beneath them. Hizashi would have called it “ritzy”. The skyline was brighter than the one observable from the UA campus. 

Tomorrow he would be sent off to some big hero’s meeting and briefed on the mission, why they couldn’t have just told him over the phone was beyond him. His suitcase filled with clothes and toiletries was still unpacked and hanging by the door. Hizashi had helped him pick out which clothes to bring and pack them in.

Aizawa dug his head into his folded arms and let out a long sigh.

If confessions were as easy as beating up villains he’d have gotten this dumb crush off his chest a long time ago.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hizashi woke up early, rolling over in bed and snatching his phone up to check the notifications. Aside from trashy hero news article headlines and calendar updates there were no texts from Aizawa. He sent off a quick “good morning” and shoved the phone into his pocket.

After rubbing the sleep from his eyes he prepared himself for the day. Eri would still need some warming up to him, and being without her dad might cause her some anxiety. In order to quell that he had lined up some activities to get her mind off of it.

Hizashi decided to make her a big breakfast, it was harder living in the dorms due to the lack of a personal kitchen, but the fridges in the teacher’s dorm were usually well-stocked.

Walking into Eri’s room he saw that she was already sitting up in bed, hair ruffled from sleep.

“Gooood morning little listener.” He leaned against the doorway and grinned. “Sleep well?”

Eri nodded. “Yes.” Her tone was somewhat distracted.

His eyes followed her stare and Hizashi couldn’t help but laugh when he saw what had been drawing her attention. 

Just beside the bed his cat had nestled in the fallen cushions and blankets. 

“This is Sprinkles-” Hizashi picked up the tubby tan cat and brought her to Eri’s lap. “She’s super friendly so don’t worry about her biting you.” Sprinkles was in fact, quite friendly. Hizashi had adopted her from a shelter several years ago. Pets weren’t usually allowed at the UA campus but due to the sudden need for teachers to move into the dorms Principal Nedzu allowed it (on the condition she didn’t try to eat him).

Eri stared at the ball of fluff in wonder. “Can I pet her?”

Hizashi gently placed Eri’s palm against Sprinkle’s back. “Of course! Not too rough, though! She likes it best when you rub her head and back.”

Eri followed his instructions and soon enough she began to purr. Eri’s eyes lit up in complete adoration. 

The scene was so cute Hizashi couldn’t help but take out his phone and take dozens upon dozens of photos. “Ahhhh you two are ADORABLE-” Sprinkles seemed to immediately warm up to the girl, and was now licking her face and nuzzling her chin. Without giving it much thought Hizashi sent off a few different pictures to Aizawa, he probably wasn’t on his phone right now, but it would be a nice surprise for him later. He sent a short text in follow-up:

Hizashi: ur daughter is a cute-magnet!!

He left a trail of sparkles and hearts. Aizawa may be sour on the outside, but he knew that on the inside he was just as susceptible to cute photos as anyone else.

“Ready to eat, Eri?” 

The girl gave him an enthusiastic smile. “Mm-hmm!” She let Sprinkles hop off the bed and slipped out herself. “What are we having?”

Hizashi snickered. “Well- we can have whatever you want! What’s your favorite breakfast, huh?”

She scratched her chin and hummed. “Ummm… cereal.. Or um- jelly pouches.”

Hizashi scrunched his nose up. Aizawa was feeding her jelly packs? “We’ll get you something a lot better than that- say have you ever had pancakes?”

Eri seemed interested. “No- are they tasty?” Her eyes glinted with barely contained excitement.

Hizashi ushered her towards the bathroom. “Only the best tasting breakfast item out there! You get cleaned up and we’ll make them together.”

Eri practically sprinted to the restroom to throw on her clothes and brush her teeth. Hizashi dressed himself too. He could forgo his usual black leather hero attire since he was off of work today, instead he chose a simple patterned sweater and slacks. His shoes were pointed with a bit of a heel, but wearing anything without a heel just wasn’t worth it. He wore bracelets on each wrist with a few beaded necklaces. The hero rarely left the house without some accessories. 

When Eri met him in the living room she nervously held her hand out to him. She was clutching a hairbrush in one hand and sparkly hair-bands in the other. Her platinum blonde hair was still knotted from sleep and she looked sheepishly between the floor and his face.  “Um-”

Hizashi took the brush from her without question. “Take a seat! We’ll get it detangled in no time.”

“Thank you.” She scurried towards a nearby wooden chair and waited for him to begin brushing it through.

Hizashi smiled thinking of how the usually gruff Aizawa probably did this for her every morning. “What style do you want today?” He ran the brush through her long hair, careful not to tug on it too roughly and cause her discomfort.

“Pigtails!” Her legs swung from the chair. 

Hizashi smirked. “Sounds good!” He pulled the girl’s hair back into two equal sections and secured them with the glittery bands she’d handed him. He did a good job for his lack of experience. “Alright kiddo, you’re set. Want to pick out the ingredients with me from the kitchen?”

Eri giddily followed him. “We’re gonna make pancakes!” She sing-songed and hummed as they walked to the teacher dorm’s kitchen.

As Hizashi was taking some milk and eggs out he heard a familiar voice. 

“Why hello there little girl~” 

Hizashi shut the fridge with his hip and set the ingredients on the counter. “Hey Nem- wanna help us cook?”

Nemuri was still in her pajamas, hair pulled in a tight bun and glasses crooked. She often laid about the dorms in nothing but a bathrobe, so Hizashi was thankful she had picked something less revealing today.

“Mmm sure! What are we making?” She sat on one of the stools that nestled the marble divider. “Hey where’s Aizawa?”

Hizashi screwed his face up in confusion. “He didn’t tell you? Shou left for a mission last night- said he’d be gone a whole WEEK.” He gestured at Eri. “That’s why I’m in charge of watching her.”

Nemuri hummed. “I see.” She looked miffed that she wasn’t in the loop, but luckily he wouldn’t be the one getting angry texts about it later. Nemuri turned her attention to the little girl. “Is Hizashi taking good care of you Eri?” 

Eri scooted her chair next to the older woman. “Yeah! We’re gonna make a pancake!”

Nemuri smiled. “Ohhhh fun! Gonna add any special ingredients? Chocolate chips or banana?”

Eri sheepishly looked to Hizashi. “Um- I don’t know. I’ve never had it.”

Nemuri laughed. “Well I think you’re gonna love it.” She sprung up from her seat and nudged Hizashi. “Let me get my coffee and I’ll help out.”

Hizashi playfully nudged her back. “Bossy, bossy. Here Eri, will you help me mix?” 

The little girl happily grabbed a tiny whisk from Hizashi and began to mix the egg yolks and egg whites until the bowl was filled with a homogeneous light yellow color. She had done some baking with Nejire before when they tried to make cupcakes for a class celebration. 

After Nemuri was done fiddling with the coffee machine she began filling up her go-to mug with the print ‘sexy as fuck’ on the side. She at least had the decency to turn it around so the words were facing her instead of the 7 year old child in the room. “You want any, Yamada?”

“Sure, thanks!” She knew how he took it (just enough sugar to separate it from battery acid). Hizashi usually spent his mornings drinking his coffee with her. Aizawa was staunchly against drinking his coffee first thing in the morning and Oboro had sworn off of it since that round of allnighters in their 20’s. 

While he mixed the batter into the pot Nemuri made casual conversation. “Any plans for today? Got a patrol?”

Hizashi shook his head. “No patrols, I asked for a bit of time off this week.” He usually did his patrol route before teaching classes, but watching after Eri and getting her to class interfered with his usual time slots. “Shouta sent me a couple different things to do for him.” He’d added them to his calendar before the grump left on his trip.

Today he was taking Eri to her math tutor, she wasn’t quite ready to be put into a kindergarten or first grade class so Aizawa had split his time teaching her himself and with a few different tutors. 

After that she had an appointment with her therapist. Hizashi didn’t know much about that, but Aizawa firmly believed it was helping her to cope with the rough past she’d had with Overhaul and his gang. Hizashi had been given the building address and would be signing her in.

For now he turned his attention towards the batter. “Alright, who wants to pour?” He took a pan out of the lower cupboards and set it on one of the burners. After turning the heat on low and spreading a thin layer of butter down it began to sizzle.

Eri crowded around him, tugging on his sweater cutely. “Can I really?” 

Hizashi rustled her head. “Of course! I’ll be here to help you, too!” He handed the ladle to her and she gripped it in her tiny hands. 

“Okay!” She dipped it in and got a good amount of batter in the utensil. Her hands reached up and over to the pan, gently tilting to release the batter onto the waiting griddle. Eri smiled and made a little gasp when the globules of batter hit the hot surface and began to thicken. They smoothed out to form many different cakes.

Nemuri chimed in from the other end of the small kitchen. “You’re doing amazing, sweetie.”

Together she and Hizashi had made all sorts of attempts at funny shapes. Circles, rabbits, mice and other animals were attempted from the fresh pancake batter. 

Eri’s face when she took a bite had been well worth the effort. ”Amazing!! This is the tastiest food ever!” She shoved mouthfuls of the pancakes into her already full cheeks. “I want pancakes every day!”

Hizashi and Nemuri laughed at her genuine reaction. How could anyone deny her?

Hizashi finished his portion of the meal quickly and got together a few bags for her. One carried some art supplies and some of her coloring books, the other had a simple set of flashcards and math puzzles for children her age. 

“Eri, we’re meeting with your math tutor today. Can I trust you to be a good girl while you’re being taught?” He said it in a friendly tone.

She nodded affirmatively. “Yes! I promise.” 

Hizashi laughed. She was such a sweet and honest girl, he didn’t doubt it for a second. 

The school was closeby. Hizashi sat with her during the lesson, gently encouraging her to answer the problems to the best of her ability. She didn’t know any math before she fell into UA’s arms, and had to learn even the most basic of things. He helped to hold up flash cards and lent her fingers when she needed to count past 10. It was sweet, Hizashi liked being here and getting to see her succeed after a life filled with so much sorrow. She was making such great progress, Aizawa was an angel to be doing this for her, no wonder he had developed such a huge crush on the guy. 

Their next destination was her therapist’s office. It was a large building, air conditioned and clean. It had one of those chrome-type floors that made you feel like you’re already living in the future. 

Her therapist was a nice older woman. After watching him sign in, she had asked Hizashi whether he wanted to sit in the room with them or in the waiting room. He was hesitant for a moment.

“Eri? Do you want me to come sit with you? Or would you rather have some privacy?”

She stopped and thought about it for a moment. “Um, I want to sit with you.” She tugged on his sweater again like she had a bit earlier. It was cute enough to put a smile on his face. He took her hand and the two sat down on a plush couch with several friendly looking plush animals. Eri automatically picked up the plush bunny and sat it down in her lap while she prepared to talk.

The therapist took her seat across from them and toted a pad of paper and a pen. “Now Mr. Yamada, I’ll be asking Eri some questions and she is free to share anything she feels comfortable with. You don’t need to do anything, but if you want to respond to something please do tell me.”

Hizashi nodded. “Yes, thank you ma’am.”

After shuffling some papers the woman cleared her throat. “Eri, how often would you say you experience “bad thoughts”?”

The questions asked were simple enough for her to understand at this young age. She gave each one some time to think about. Hizashi hadn’t known exactly the extent of her trauma, but he certainly understood it after today. She was surprisingly eloquent, and had understood what was being done to her. “They hurt me… but now I’m okay, I have lots of friends.” She knew herself better than some people in her 30’s. She had trauma, but she was already moving on so fantastically. This kid was an inspiration to him. So young, and so deceptively intelligent of the world and the kinds of people that populate it.

After answering questions he handed Eri the art supplies and paper he’d brought. She was allowed to draw and color whatever she felt like. It helped her relax after sharing personal feelings, and some people believed that looking at the drawings of children was a somewhat accurate gauge for their mental health. 

She did drawings of all sorts of things, planes and other automobiles, animals like cats and dogs, even a few drawings of Aizawa, his form large and gray and square. Stable, Aizawa had become the stable figure in her life, he seemed to represent someone she could rely on. Aizawa was her new home. 

Hizashi was enamored with her energy. She was kind and upbeat, singing little songs to herself and delighting in the array of rainbow colored wax.

“Mr. Mic-” Eri tugged at Hizashi’s arm from where the man was sitting on the couch.

“Yes?” 

She held up a coloring book and some crayons. “Do you want to color?”

Hizashi smiled. “That sounds lovely.”

She handed him a booklet and a box of crayons. “You can draw however you want. You don’t need to color in the lines.” She repeated it like her therapist had probably said it to her some sessions ago when she began.

She brought over her own book too, flipping through the pages to different bright illustrations.

“This one is a blue fish, I like it because fish can be any color.” She turned the page to another bright display of oranges, reds, and yellows. “This rabbit is cute, he has big hair like you.”

Hizashi snickered. The rabbit did in fact have a long tuft of hair that stuck up between it’s cartoonish ears. “I see.” Usually people weren’t so nice when they pointed out the way he styled his hair, Eri had taste.

Hizashi flipped open his own book and began scanning the black and white pages, waiting for a bit of inspiration to take him. He found his muse in an iguana that sat peacefully on a rock baking in the sun. He took out the green crayon and began shading away. “Y’know it’s been a while since I did one of these, try not to tease me too much.”

Eri smiled. “I wouldn’t. Coloring isn’t about how good, what matters is how much fun you have!” She kicked her legs out back and forth playfully. “It’s illogical to tease someone like that.”

Hizashi snorted. “You really are picking up after him” She looked at him questioningly but he just ruffled her head. “Thank you Eri.”

At some point Eri’s therapist waved him over.

“Yes ma’am?” Hizashi tucked some hair behind his ear and came close to her desk.

She set down her pen on the notes she’d been taking. “You’re close to her father, Aizawa Shouta?”

He nodded instinctively. “Yes, we’re close friends.” And nothing more, to his own despair. 

She slid him a note across the desk top. “Would you give him this for me? It’s nothing confidential, just a few notes and observations I think he would like to see.”

Hizashi pocketed the folded piece of paper. “Thank you, I’ll give it to him as soon as I can.”

She smiled. “Good, thank you for coming in today. I think you’re a good influence on that girl.”

Hizashi turned back and looked at Eri. She was in a similar position to before, happily filling in animal shapes and humming to herself. When she met his gaze she smiled, waving one of the crayons in the air and twiddling it between her fingers. 

He felt his heart twinge. He couldn’t tell if it was from some form of pride or something else, but he was sure that she was already leaving her mark on him. “Thank you ma’am.”

When they went home that night Hizashi prepared her a spaghetti dinner. They sat at his tiny living room table, nestled together and chatting quietly. Hizashi’s dorm was separated on both sides by empty rooms, nearly giving him the whole dorm floor to himself. When they had decided on the teacher’s quarters nobody had wanted to take the rooms next to him. They probably assumed he was as loud on the training grounds and classrooms as he was at home. In truth he wasn’t more noisy than anyone else, he’d long since gotten used to his quirk, so even when he was surprised he kept his voice at a normal volume. His singing in the shower certainly didn’t shatter glass or explode heads, but it didn’t stop his colleagues from staying away. It had upset him at first, but he’d learned to like it, too. He didn’t have to worry about upsetting his neighbors and the floor was always tidy. His friends visited him often enough, and if he felt lonely he could always go out.

But having Eri around felt… nice. Having someone to talk to, even as young as she was, was like a breath of fresh air. She paid attention to his stories and shared some of her own, to his delight.

She talked a lot about Aizawa, which was to be expected. She prattled on about what activities they did, the hairstyles they’d experimented with, and which dishes he liked to cook for her.

Hizashi was content to listen, but something nagged at the back of his brain, and he couldn’t keep himself from asking. “Eri, does Aizawa ever go on a date?”

Aizawa never mentioned his romantic affairs, not even to him, his closest friend and confidant! Was he really so dedicated to his job as to not have been on a date in years ? 

“A date?” Eri put down her fork with a look of confusion. “What’s a date?”

Hizashi chuckled. Of course she didn’t know what a date was, she was only a child after all. Aizawa was probably just a secretive in the case that he was having undercover relationships. “Oh! Well, a date is like when two people who like each other hang out!” He paused thinking. “They go out to the movies or have dinner and hold hands- those sorts of things.”

She seemed intrigued by the idea. “Dad and I go to the movies!”

Hizashi pat her shoulder. “It’s more of a romantic thing. Like for girlfriends and boyfriends!”

Eri slumped in her chair. “Oh, no. I don’t know about that.”

Hizashi picked up their dishes and carried them to the small sink. “I didn’t think so.” 

Eri hopped out of her seat and helped carry silverware over. “Does dad want a girlfriend?” She plopped the utensils in the sink and watched as the water became bubbly. 

“Well, I don’t know.” Did Aizawa plan on staying single forever? It wasn’t uncommon for kids to have a single parent nowadays, no one would be pressuring him.

Eri gasped and smiled suddenly. “Do you want to be his girlfriend?”

Hizashi dropped the dish he was washing into the sink, shattering one of the glass cups that was underneath it. “Shit!- Oh- sorry!!” He covered his mouth and flushed. “I’ll clean that up. I’m so sorry.”

Eri ignored the mess and bounced from one foot to the other. “You could go to the movies! And hold hands and other stuff! Like you said!” She seemed taken with the idea. “And then I could have two dads instead of one!”

Hizashi felt his face getting warmer by the second, first from the embarrassment of cursing in front of a kid and then from the prospect that Eri wanted him to be Aizawa’s girlfriend . 

“Oh- um- I-I don’t know if Shouta would want that..” he trailed off, picking pieces of glass out of the dirty sinkwater. It wasn’t like he hadn’t given it the thought. In fact, he’d been quite obsessed with it for a while… “Your father is very particular.”

Eri’s smile didn’t falter. “You should ask him! I’m sure he would say yes!”

Hizashi had not expected Eri to become his hype-man or rather, hype-girl but the thought of actually asking Shouta to a date filled his veins with ice. Aizawa Shouta was not someone you could casually ask on a date of all things, he barely responded in ordinary conversation! Hizashi looked at Eri’s beaming grin, she truly believed he even had a chance! 

“Thank you Eri, I’ll um- I’ll think about it.”

“Yay!!” She hugged him around the waist, face nuzzling into his stomach and tiny horn poking his ribs (note to self, find something to cover that up). She continued on happily,  “Then you can read me bedtime stories all the time!” 

Hizashi pat her on the back gently. Maybe he’d left a lasting impression in these couple days after all! Eri had many different caretakers and role models hanging around UA, butterflies filled his stomach thinking that she’d chosen him to step into a parental role. 

“Thank you Eri, how’s about we get ready for bed now? Big day tomorrow!”

Eri agreed easily. Having her get to bed early would give him time to clean and think about this whole mess…

He took out the notes the therapist had given him earlier that day and tucked them in a drawer for later. It took some willpower not to peek but his poker face was nonexistent and being under Shouta’s interrogation wasn’t worth the trouble of keeping small secrets.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

3:00AM- potentially the worst time to be woken up by a call, so of course Hizashi was having his ears blasted by a custom ringtone.

Hizashi rubbed his eyes, and reached his hand over to the bedside drawer that was making so much noise.

He picked up his phone and spoke softly to not wake up the toddler sleeping one room over. “Yes?”

Aizawa sounded rushed, but maintained his usual bored way of speaking. “How is everything? How’s Eri?”

Hizashi sighed into the microphone. Of course Aizawa didn’t even care what time it was or if he had woken him up. “She’s fine- everything is fine-“ He shifted on the bed, scooching back until his shoulders were pressed into the headboard and he could sit up properly. “Do you know how late it is? I was totally asleep just now.” His sleep addled mind didn’t care if he came across as groggy and aggravated. How was he supposed to maintain his good looks with no sleep!

Aizawa huffed. “Sorry- I didn’t have a chance to text or call earlier and I got worried.” There was some shifting before he picked back up. “Did you go to the appointment?”

Hizashi grabbed his glasses from the nightstand and turned on a light. “Yeah Shou, it was fine. She did great.” 

Aizawa let out a sigh of relief. “Good.” 

Hizashi was left to pick up the conversation as usual. “Is that all? Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. It’s a surveillance kind of thing… um-“ His voice was lowered as if passing by another person. “What are you doing-?”

Hizashi let out the whisper of a laugh. “Sleeping-duh. Why do you sound like a phone sex operator?” His laughter escalated as Aizawa fumbled on the other line.

“You always make things weird-“

“Yeah- have you met me? That’s like my specialty.” Hizashi countered easily. 

“Whatever- I’ll be home in 5 days- try not to be weird around my kid.” He joked back as dry as ever.

Hizashi was taken back. “As if! You know I’m good with kids. I treat Eri like a little angel!”

He made his voice dramatic in the way he knew Aizawa despised. “But really Shou- you’ve got nothing to worry about. We’re fine, you’re fine, it’s okay.”

Aizawa hummed. “Thank you Hizashi- I- you know- I’ve told you before but-“ He cleared his throat. “I care about you- a lot. Thank you for doing this.” He continued on as if this spiel wasn’t turning his insides into mush. “I asked you because I trust you more than anyone else.”

Hizashi smiled, Aizawa couldn’t see it obviously- but that’s how he wanted it. Aizawa read him like an open book and seeing the unfiltered adoration he currently wore might make his biggest secret slip away from him. “Of course Shou-“ Eri’s words of encouragement suddenly flitted into his mind.

I’m sure he would say yes!

How he wished to have the confidence of a 7 year old.

Could Aizawa ever reciprocate these feelings? He came across like an emotionless wall- but there was no one that’d seen how untrue that was than him. 

Was it worth shooting his shot..?

“I…” His throat clenched uncomfortably. “I’m gonna go back to bed now. Call me again soon okay?” He shifted in the bed covers. Feelings were scary and he was not going to do this over the phone. No, it had to be in person.

“Alright ‘Zashi.” His voice was soft- way softer than it ought to be coming from a friend. “Goodnight.”

“Night.”

Hizashi ended the call as soon as his beating heart didn’t feel like it was going to explode out of his chest. God he hated this feeling, he hated how quickly Aizawa could make him a blushing mess. 

He practically threw his phone back on the stand before turning out the light and burying his face in the pillow. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“This isn’t how Aizawa does it…”

Hizashi grumbled. It had to be the fourth time this training session that Shinsou had told him.

“Look kid, I know. I’m not here to replicate what he does, I’m here to train you my way.” He picked up one of the targets that had been knocked down. “I’m a hero too, y’know? Just because I don’t wave around a titanium scarf doesn’t mean I can’t guide you.”

Shinsou picked himself up off the ground. “Why are you training me anyway?”

Hizashi sighed. “I told you! Aizawa put me in charge of your lessons while he’s on a trip-”

“Trip where? Is it a mission?” Shinsou drew closer and helped to pick up fallen targets.

“Yeah- I really don’t know too much about it.” He placed the targets back up and fixed them with an uncertain look.

So far he wasn’t doing a particularly good job, between fumbling to use the scarf himself to see what it was like and failing to help Shinsou aim he was about ready to quit. 

Thankfully he had some better ideas.

“You’ve got a voice quirk too, right?”

Shinsou knit his brows together in confusion. “No? It’s a brainwashing quirk- my voice activates it I guess… It’s nothing like yours though, I can’t make it louder or anything like that.”

Hizashi pushed his sunglasses up to rest on the top of his head. “Still sounds like a voice quirk to me- why don’t we train that?”

Shinsou remained seated. “It’s not- plus I have a voice modulator for it.”

Hizashi waved his arguments off. “Pfft, do you really think heroes have access to their gear all the time? What about when you’re off-duty- or if a villain busts it?” He took a seat on the ground next to his temporary pupil. “When you’re in trouble you’re going to need your voice- without training your activation method you might as well not train at all, right?”

Shinsou hummed quietly in acknowledgement.

Hizashi continued with more confidence. “Lucky for you I’m a pro at voice training! You don’t need a quirk for that either- anyone can learn how to use their voice.”

“So how do I train it?” Shinsou smirked. “Do you just scream a lot?”

Hizashi rolled his eyes, which was more obvious without his signature shades in the way. “Uh- absolutely not . Straining your vocal chords is a one-way ticket to early retirement. I’m going to teach you how to use your voice without messing it up, yo.” He shuffled a hand into the inner pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small bottle. “Here’s some throat spray- if you overuse your vocal chords it can hurt like hell, this will soothe some of the discomfort. You’ve gotta treat your voice well like you would your other weapons.” 

Shinsou took the bottle and looked it over. “Do I really need it? It’s not like I’m shouting that often, if my opponent is close enough to fight then they can hear me.”

“Believe me kid, when you’re out there fighting you can barely hear your thoughts sometimes. We won’t just be training your volume either, there’s tons to teach you if you want to learn.” Hizashi shrugged his leather jacket off. While he loved the look even he had to admit it wasn’t the most thermodynamic costume, especially during the hot summer months. “Check this out.”

Shinsou watched his substitute mentor curiously. He didn’t appear to be doing anything, so that made it even more surprising when he heard a voice come from his left. 

After stumbling back a bit he heard Hizashi laughing. 

“Scared ya?” He helped Shinsou to his feet, still wearing a grin. “Bet you don’t know how to throw your voice do ya?”

Shinsou shook his head. “Uh- no. I didn’t think it was actually possible…” His hand instinctively came to rest on the back of his neck. “You didn’t even open your mouth.”

Hizashi pat the young boy’s fluffy hair down. “That’s where you’re wrong, little listener. It’s all about pretending. I know you can’t control your sound waves like me, but speaking without appearing to is probably freaky enough to get anyone to respond to your questions.” 

The corner of Shinsou’s mouth quirked up. “Yeah, I guess that is pretty cool. So are you like a ventriloquist or something?”

“No- but I did do a ton of vocal training when I was first practicing my quirk. Learning little things like that kept it interesting.” Hizashi remembered when he used to bug Aizawa with all the new things he could do with his voice. All of high school he’d be bothering the young, grumpy kid with weird vocalizations and frequencies. While not all of it was useful for hero work he sure did have fun with it.

“So how do you do it?” Shinsou seemed more interested now.

Hizashi smiled. Maybe he wouldn’t be such a poor replacement after all. “Well, let’s start with the basics.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Overall Shinsou did really well. It was certainly different from his usual training sessions and involved a lot less sparring, but by the end he had come a long way.

Learning to mask his lip movements and focus on impressions in a more traditional sense would be useful for undercover missions, and it made Hizashi happy that he had been convinced to give it a shot.

Hizashi dedicated a good amount of time to picking up their training equipment. He’d have to hurry home to get started on dinner for Eri, who was probably ready to be done with Nemuri’s babysitting. She could be a bit intense if you spent too much time with her. Hopefully the girl wasn’t suffering through one of Nemuri’s long winded stories of failed dates, a concept she had been unwittingly prepared for. 

“Hey-”

Hizashi turned to his pupil, who had finished packing his things into a yellow backpack and was now shuffling awkwardly around him. “Yes little listener?”

Shinsou cleared his throat, which was still a bit hoarse from training it for the first time. “Um… Thank you for teaching me today, this was actually pretty fun.” His eyes darted to the ground. “Maybe if you’re free and it’s okay with Aizawa-sensei… we could do it again sometime?”

Hizashi was beaming. He pulled the kid into a hug, something the boy probably despised, but Hizashi was a tactile person and thought nothing was better than a hug or cuddle. “Of course! I’m sure I can manage some type of arrangement.”

He let the boy go and giggled at his flustered expression. This kid was not used to physical affection, Aizawa probably never spared him more than a nod of approval.

Shinsou bowed and quickly turned back towards the student dorms. 

He was a good kid- hardworking, determined and a lot like Aizawa when they were kids. No wonder the underground hero had become so focused on giving him extra lessons. 

Now to finish cleaning…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hizashi aimed his phone camera very precisely, he needed to get Eri in the shot but she was moving too much to get a photo without a hilariously blurred form.

“Eri, hun, can you come sit down for a second? I wanted to send a photo to your dad before bed.”

The girl hurried over, her cat patterned pink socks skating across the hardwood floor. “Yeah!” 

She slid into him, nearly knocking him over. The two had become well accustomed to taking photos together now, and Hizashi’s camera-roll was turning into a beautiful collage of their time together.

The days had flown by. Hizashi couldn’t decide if it was a blessing or a curse. As much as he wanted his friend to come home immediately, that would also mark the end of his time as Eri’s guardian. Which he really, really had come to love.

“Can I see it?”

Hizashi turned the camera to the little girl who hummed in approval. 

“Perfect.” Eri hit the send button herself, adding her own message and string of cute emojis. After she was done his recent emoticons looked like a magical array of cute animals and rainbows.

Aizawa didn’t reply immediately. They’d heard from him earlier that  day and he’d assured Hizashi he was doing fine, even thanking him for taking on the lesson with Shinsou.

So why did Hizashi feel so nervous?

The past decade and some had been tough for the two of them. Patrols weren’t always easy and Aizawa had been beaten badly at USJ. Hizashi wasn’t usually such a worrier but one missed text here and one missed call there quickly set his mind racing into dangerous, destructive territory. 

Eri’s snuggling around his chest helped to calm him though. 

In truth.. He wasn’t only worried about the mission.

He’d grown closer to Eri while watching her, and in some way that helped him feel closer to Aizawa too. He had been thinking of him more often, texting and calling and getting his heart worked up for the confession he could never choke out. Would he be different when Aizawa came back? Different enough to do something about this yearning in his chest that had plagued him since his second year attending UA? Would Aizawa ever be different?

“Mr. Mic?”

“Hm?” Hizashi rumbled. He had been swiping through his and Aizawa’s conversation mindlessly.

The girl hiked herself closer until her nose pressed into his cheek. “What’re you thinking about?”

Eri certainly acted differently towards him now, in a good way. Much more comfortable and open.

“Uh, well.” It was difficult confronting his feelings by himself- much less to another person who didn’t yet understand the kinds of feelings he meant. “I was thinking about your dad- wishing he’d come home to see you.” He stuttered. “N-not that I want him to come get you because I don’t want to be with you! Just that- I miss him, y’know? I bet you miss him too.”

Eri nodded, seemingly fine with his rambling that caused so many friends to roll their eyes. “I do miss him. I’m sure he misses us too, though.” The girl smiled, full of assurance. As chaotic as things got nowadays it was clear she had no doubt that Aizawa cared about her.

“You’re right, kiddo.” Hizashi pulled the blanket up around Eri’s shoulders and siddled himself off of the pullout bed. “Now you should get some sleep. Sweet dreams, Eri.”

Rather than closing her eyes and tucking into bed as usual she raised her head off the pillow. “Um, Mr. Mic?”

“Yes?” He tried to sound comforting. Eri wasn’t usually so nervous when asking him for something.

“Could you…” She shuffled nervously underneath her blanket. “Could I have a goodnight kiss?”

Hizashi’s heart nearly burst from his chest. If the girl wasn’t so earnest he’d think this was a plot just to kill him with cuteness. “Of course!”

Aizawa had given her a kiss before he left, of course she would be used to them. Hizashi was just happy she felt comfortable enough to ask for one from him too. 

He brushed the hair away from her forehead and kissed her lightly on the head. “Goodnight, kid.”

She giggled. “Your mustache tickles.”

Hizashi laughed, unconsciously reaching a hand up to his face to stroke the pad of his thumb over the aforementioned facial hair. Usually when people brought up the Mic-stache it was to complain, but Eri seemed perfectly happy. “Well, uh thanks!” 

She dug herself into the blankets again, finally content enough to rest her eyes.

Hizashi turned out the light before getting to work doing his grading at the kitchen table.

Watching Eri had meant he’d gotten behind on his teaching work. If he’d known how much less free time he was going to have he wouldn’t have assigned so many creative writing exercises to grade… 

Well, putting it off at this point wasn’t an option. WIth one last sigh Hizashi put on some music, pulled out his red pen and got to work.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hizashi woke up to a loud thump. 

His head hurt, apparently his body wasn’t as good at dealing with impromptu kitchen-table naps as it was in college. Man, he really needed to stop falling asleep in weird positions. He’d be feeling this crick in his neck for the next week no doubt.

Another thump pulled him out of his thoughts long enough to realize why he was suddenly awake.

With a groan he pulled himself up from the creaky wooden table where he’d been napping. He took a moment to pull off the pieces of paper that stuck themselves to his cheek. Was that drool? Gross .

A third thump sounded throughout the house before Hizashi realized someone was knocking on the front door. How long had they been there? And why hadn’t they used the buzzer?

Hizashi yanked himself out of his chair and ignored the pens and pencils that scattered to the floor as he made his way to the front hallway. The apartment was small and it only took a few seconds to reach the door. 

Was it a student? Why had they come to him instead of the principal? Or Recovery Girl? His brain buzzed with questions and no small amount of concern. Could there be an attack at the school? Surely his enhanced hearing would have picked up on an emergency alarm.

He peered through the peephole and quickly threw the door open. There was only one person who wore tattered clothes and stubble so well.

“Shouta? What-but-how-why?” Hizashi tried saying everything at once and managed to say nothing at all.

Aizawa simply chuckled. “Thanks for the welcome home.”

Hizashi blushed. “You weren’t supposed to be back for 3 more days! What happened?” He didn’t mention that this technically wasn’t Aizawa’s home- unless he was referring to the entire building.

Aizawa lugged his suitcase towards the door. “You could say I did a good job- wasn’t really a point to me being there after the target was in captivity.”

Hizashi clapped his friend on the back. “That’s great news!” He ushered Aizawa into the flat and shut the door behind them. He didn’t need Nedzu handing him another public disturbance slip for waking up staff members in the middle of the night.

“How is Eri?” Aizawa asked after putting his things down in the living room. 

“She’s good, sleeping right now.” Hizashi wasn’t surprised that she was the first thing on his mind. “If you want I can go wake her up.” The two of them gravitated towards the kitchen where Hizashi started picking up the items he had dropped in his hurry to get to the door.

Aizawa shook his head. “No, no. It’s fine. I wouldn’t want to disturb her while she’s sleeping.” He shrugged off his capture scarf and settled down in one of the kitchen chairs. The exhaustion was clear on his face. “Thank you again for watching her. It helped a lot to not have to worry about that on top of everything else.”

“Of course Shou, it was my pleasure.” Hizashi started making coffee out of habit. He certainly wouldn’t be getting back to bed after all of this. “Want some?”

“No.” Aizawa drolled. “I actually wanted to… talk to you about something.”

Hizashi paused for a second. Aizawa rarely initiated any kind of serious talk. “Sure?” He grabbed his cup and sat himself back down at the table. “What’s up?” He cradled the mug towards his chest.

Aizawa averted his gaze, staring holes into the unfinished papers that littered the table. “I wanted to- on the phone…” He cleared his throat and started again. “You mean a lot to me. I know that well- we’ve been busy lately but…” His eyes finally met Hizashi’s, and they were looking to him for help.

But how could he help when he didn’t even know what Aizawa was trying to say?!

Not to mention how distracted he was with Aizawa’s hand drifting across the table and finding his.

“Uh.” Hizashi muttered out. “Me too- you mean a lot to me too…” Hizashi’s face was still hot- and not from the steam coming from his drink. This was unlike the romantic confession he had always imagined- and missing at least one musical number and spectacular costumes. But if this was how it was going to happen he would cherish every single moment. “Since… forever.”

“Shouta-”

“Hizashi-”

They both shut their mouths. Hizashi laughed awkwardly to break the sudden silence. “Go on.”

Aizawa cringed- at himself or what he was about to say. “Okay.” He tried to smile. “I’ve been thinking about… us.”

Hizashi nodded his head with a bit too much excitement. “Yeah?”

“About our relationship.” Aizawa spat out before staring right into his eyes. 

He stopped again, resituating their hands before continuing.

“And.. you’ve… always been there for me…”

Hizashi felt like they were pulling teeth- it was obvious what he was trying to say, wasn’t it? “Shouta.”

Aizawa was flushed across his cheeks and all the way down to the collar of his jumpsuit. He looked tired, nervous, and completely unlike his regular self. “Yes?”

Hizashi held onto his friend’s callused hands tighter than he ever had before. “I am totally in love with you. I’ve been in love with you since high school- since before high school. I fell in love with you that day you kicked my ass in the sports festival and I realized I’d never find a more handsome and bullheaded and beautiful human being anywhere else in the world. I fell in love with you when you took me to the nurse and held me so my head so the blood would stop rushing out of my nose. I fell in love with you when you came with me to that awful music concert and pretended to enjoy yourself so I wouldn’t feel bad. I fell in love with you when you decided to become a teacher and convinced Nedzu to put our desks together. I fell in love with you when you took in Eri and decided to be the best dad that you could be just so that she could learn to smile again. I fall in love with you every single day, Shou.”

Aizawa didn’t respond at first- couldn’t respond. He was shocked to his core- jaw open and eyes wide. “You… did you say that in one breath?”

Hizashi chuckled. “To be fair, I’ve got the lung capacity.”

Aizawa smiled- it wasn’t forced like his usual menacing grin- but gentle and warm and filled with something Hizashi didn’t understand yet. “Can I kiss you?”

“Please.”

The two of them leaned over- lips brushing for the first time. As simple and quick as the action was, it felt natural.

Aizawa’s hands reached up to cradle Hizashi’s face. They kissed a few more times in between fits of laughter. The adrenaline had them both shaking with excitement.

Hizashi pulled back first, only to recapture Aizawa’s hands and hold them to his chest. 

Aizawa grinned. “Your mustache tickles.” 

The two of them laughed together- only to be startled when they heard a third set of giggles coming from the hallway.

“Eri?” Aizawa rose from his chair and peeked towards the dark.

The girl didn’t stay hidden for long, quickly rushing toward her father and burying herself in his stomach. “I missed you!”

Aizawa pat her on the head. “I missed you too, sweetheart.”

Eri had a lot of energy for a child who was supposed to be sleeping. “Are you dating? Is Mic your girlfriend? Is he going to be my new dad?”

Hizashi couldn’t contain his snickers. The look on Aizawa’s face was the perfect mixture of horror and amusement. 

“Well someone has been learning a lot from their babysitter, hm?” Aizawa gave a pointed glare at Hizashi who held up his hands innocently.

“Don’t blame me! I took great care of her!”

Eri nodded vigorously. “YEAH! Mr. Mic is the best! We made pancakes and art and he taught me lots of jokes and he only said a bad word once!”

Aizawa laughed despite himself. “That all sounds great. Why don’t you tell me about it more in the morning?” He picked her up easily. “Girls like you should be going back to bed.”

Eri pouted. “Can we stay here?” It was obvious the girl liked to be in the house with the three of them together- four if you count Sprinkles the cat.

AIzawa turned to Hizashi. “Only if Hizashi says it’s alright.”

Hizashi wasted no time hopping to his feet. “Of course! I would be nothing if not a gracious host to my two favorite listeners.”

The three of them went back to the makeshift bedroom and tucked Eri back in. It was a challenging feat when she had enough energy to chase circles around both of them.

“I should warn you that I already gave away my extra bed.”

Aizawa smirked. “Somehow I don’t think we’ll have a problem sharing.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hizashi sat upright in bed, still held tightly around the waist. “Shou- Shou I forgot to give you something.

Aizawa groaned, he was definitely not a morning person. “Unless it’s another kiss I don’t want it.” he mumbled half-heartedly.

Hizashi snorted before reaching to his bedside drawer. “No silly, it’s a note from Eri’s therapist. She gave it to me when I took her to the appointment.”

Aizawa seemed more awake now. He took the folded piece of paper and after a moment let out an amused chuckled. 

Hizashi tried not to pry- it would be rude to ask what it said, wouldn’t it? But it seemed short and had made the other man laugh… Was it a joke of some kind? His curiosity won the battle. “What's it say?”

Aizawa handed the paper to him without hesitation. 

Your boyfriend is very good with her. He should come along more often.

Boyfriend?!

Hizashi was surprised. “Boyfriend, huh? Well I could get very used to that.”

Aizawa nodded his head in agreement. “Looks like she figured us out before even I did. She must be damn smart, huh?”

Hizashi laughed too. “The best.” He settled back into the warm sheets and found Aizawa’s hands again. “Now how long do you think we can cuddle before Eri starts asking for pancakes?”

“I’d give it three minutes, tops.”