Chapter Text
Aikio greets the haggard looking hero at the door, the restless feeling that had come since he left not abiding, but reducing from a roar to more of a whisper in the back of Aikio’s head. Aizawa huffs fondly at seeing him “Hey, kid. Don’t worry, everything got settled” he informs Aikio, dragging a hand through his long hair and dropping onto the couch, leaning back and closing his eyes, seemingly exhausted.
Shuffling, Aikio joins him, though on the other side of the couch “Yeah, I heard about what happened. Kirishima texted me actually…” he admits, rubbing the back of his head, feeling the sticky sweat under his hand. Ugh. He really needs a shower. Aizawa cracks an eye open slightly and looks at him from across the couch in curiosity “Kirishima, huh? I'm surprised it wasn't one of your ‘Dekusquad’” Aikio stares at him in utter confusion “one of my what?”
“One of your close friends, listener” Yamada clarifies from the kitchen that he had just entered, smiling, amused. “I think it’s Uraraka, Asui, Iida, and Todoroki if I remember right. Still don't know how you managed to swing that last one, little listener. That boy was anti-friend from the start”
“Zashi…” Aizawa groans warningly from the couch. Yamada simply sips the tea he’s made and raises an eyebrow “What? It's not gossip, I’m just helping the kid out with his memories” he side steps as Aizawa throws a well aimed pillow at him from the couch with a laugh. “You sure are grumpy, did the kids really wear you out that much?”
“My students responded to some petty taunts. They should have known better. Heroes can't just lose focus if their opponents bait them. They deserved a talking to.” he glances to his side at Aikio who had been quietly observing their little back and forth, and his eyes soften a little. “Their intentions were relatively pure, but they still shouldn't have done it. It was reckless.”
Yamada moves over to Aizawa on the couch with a fondly exasperated ‘what am I going to do with you?’ look, and leans against the side of the couch next to him, gently running his fingers through Aizawa's hair in a way that looks very relaxing “Sweetheart, they were standing up for a friend, I think you can cut them a little slack here.”
“I know, that's why I let them off easy,” Aizawa’s mouth splits into a wide, toothy grin “I only gave them three essays about de-escalation and made them run laps around the track a few times” Yamada pouts and shakes his head, Aikio looking between them suddenly glad he didn't have his memories and wasn't part of that punishment.
Aikio pushes off the couch and heads to the bathroom, intent on a long, refreshing shower, only to trip floundering over Sushi, who had planted himself in the middle of the hallway and apparently decided to try his paw at cosplaying a solid unmovable brick. Aikio winces and shoots a glare at Sushi from the floor, who simply tilts his head and meows at him as if he didn’t do it on purpose “Not another word from you,” he tells the cat, and shoots another glare over his shoulder as he hears Yamada snickering behind him. “And you didn't see anything”
Yamada grins at him before dramatically lifting the back of his hand to his forehead. “Oh no! For I have never been so blind, I cannot see nary a thing!” and making a show of bumping into a wall as he walks away.
Aikio pulls himself to his feet, mindful of the now purring Sushi weaving his way around Aikio’s legs while he walks.
His shower is soothing and warm, unlike the short freezing cold ones he had experienced during his time with the League. This was a nice change that he’d been secretly pleased with since the heroes took him in. Sushi was waiting on top of Aikio’s bed for him, soaking up a beam of waning sunlight that was hitting the bed just right, and looking about as warm and content as Aikio felt from his shower. “Fine,” he grumbles, reaching out to pet the cat, who leans into Aikios hand “I forgive you because you're too adorable to be mad at”
After he's properly dressed and dried, Aikio heads back out to the living room with his notebook to crash in front of the Tv again and hopefully analyze another hero again, and finding his mark during a international special featuring a top hero from England named Mallea who’s quirk is the ability to change the construction of matter of an object. She’d apparently risen quite quickly in the hero ranks after her debut, her powerful quirk being a game changer in many fights and her lynx mutation scoring her major brownie points with the public. He’s several pages deep into his analysis of her when Aizawa calls his name softly from behind him. “Sorry kid, just wanted to let you know I have to head out for patrol, and Zashi’s almost got dinner ready for you.”
Aikio blinks. Patrol? Dinner? Eraserhead is an Underground hero, meaning he usually patrols at night. Raising his head to look outside, Aikio is embarrassed to find the night sky looking back at him, realizing he must have gotten way more sucked into his analysis than he realized. His hair is perfectly dry at this point too, as another indication of how much time had passed. Aikio pauses and frowns after a moment of thought. “But… You haven’t gone on patrol since the night we met”
Aizawa nods, slipping on his boots “Yeah, after I found you, we decided to take some time off to help you settle in, and for your protection as well. It’s why Zashi and I haven’t been teaching, either, but I need to go in tonight. The crime rate has been rising pretty sharply since the league and the commission made their announcements, and they're calling an all hands on deck situation tonight. Zashi will stay here with you, though, so don't worry.”
Aikio nods and shoves down his concern for the hero. He’d held his own against Aikio when they had fought the night they met, and from the memories he’s gotten back about the man, had been able to fight and defend himself well. He could handle himself. In a move that surprises them both, Aikio gets to his feet and moves over to give Aizawa a hug.
He feels Aizawa wrap his arms around him lightly in return after a moment and relishes in the sturdy, warm embrace he’s found himself in. He can't remember ever having hugged anyone before, unless he was going to count chokeholds or being pinned down by Toga, and he definitely didn't. Without his consent, Aikio’s eyes tear up a bit. He was missing out on so much because of what the league took from him, to the point where he knew he didn't even know all he was missing. It was cruel, crueler than he had realized before, to be denied something like this. It was a simple gesture yet communicated much, and every point of contact with Aizawa felt like safety.
They part after a moment, neither mentioning the red rimming of Aikio’s eyes, something that he appreciated greatly. Aizawa ruffles his hair, and gives him a gentle shove towards Yamada in the kitchen before heading out of the door. “See you later kid”
Aikio waves goodbye, before joining Yamada, who’s cooking, like always, seemed to draw him in like a siren's song. Yamada somehow made even the smell of the raw ingredients alone better when he cooked. The green onions smelt fresher and sharper, and the pork sizzling on the stove damn near made his mouth water even before any spices were added. Yamada sees him hovering, and gives him a job cutting some other vegetables for the dish, something easy that requires little skill in the kitchen. The kitchen knife doesn’t feel the same as Aikio’s personal knives, but the feeling of chopping the vegetables is almost soothing. “Hey, Yamada?” he asks, the man turning to look at him with a questioning hum “Could I help out with cooking again some time? This is nice and I think I want to learn more about all this” he gestures around the kitchen with his free hand.
Yamada brightens considerably, looking excited “I’d be honored to have you help out, little listener! How about you help out with lunch tomorrow? We’ll start small and work our way up, okay?” Aikio nods, pleased, and returns to his vegetables, the air in the room lighter and happier than before as Yamada hums to himself as he cooks.
Dinner is ready before long, the two of them sitting together at the table eating in content silence. It’s amazing as usual, but Aikio feels a tiny twinge of pride at his small hand in helping make it. It’s nice feeling proud of something mundane for a change. They talk back and forth after a bit, Yamada giving him mini English language quizzes at Aikio’s request to see if he could understand more (he could, there were several times where it just clicked in his brain without him having to think about it too much) and telling him a few funny stories about Aizawa and the rest of the staff at U.A.
It was peaceful, and once dinner was finished and the kitchen was cleaned, Yamada convinced Aikio to choose another movie for them to watch. This time Aikio was a little adventurous and chose an actual movie instead of a hero documentary, and they sat down together to watch it. They were almost at the end of the movie; a film about elves and their journey across the land or something like that, when Yamada’s phone rings.
Aikio pauses the movie as Yamada slips into his office to answer it, a soundproof room both for security and the sake of his quirk. He’s shut in there for a few minutes before he comes rushing out in a hurry, going straight for the entryway and pulling on his shoes. He looks at Aikio sitting on the couch and gives him a serious look. “I have to go, little listener, Shouta got hurt on patrol. I’m sorry, listener, you can't come with me, there've been reports of league activity tonight too, it's too dangerous. Nemuri is on her way over, she’s almost here, and she's gonna stay with you until we can get back. Don’t leave the apartment, okay listener? Shouta’s gonna be okay, he’s a tough cookie, don't you worry.”
Aikio’s heart leaps to his throat and he’s quick to agree to Yamada’s quick explanation, not wanting to keep the man from his injured husband for much longer, and leans back on the couch, Sushi curled up in his arms.
Yamada is gone quickly after that, locking the door behind him with his keys and the gentle electronic beep. In what had just been a flurry of movement and emotion, Aikio is suddenly left in a quiet, empty apartment, no person in sight, a constant that he’d gotten used to in his time here that he is now suddenly without.
He tries to keep himself busy by petting Sushi and finishing out the rest of the movie, but his mind keeps rolling back to the fact that Aizawa was hurt. He’d been here, and fine, only a few hours ago, and now he was alive yes, but hurt. And he had no idea how badly. The movie is just about to end, the camera zooming out for a wide shot, when the power to the entire apartment goes out.