Infectious

ch. 44

Chapter Forty Four;;- Tender Conversation

Serene.

That was how it felt when the sun returned the next day. Its rays woke [name] from her sleep and although she felt slightly embarrassed that she had fallen asleep on Aizawa the night prior, she was incredibly thankful that he had let her stay there. When she woke, her cheek was still pressed to the warm fabric of his sweatshirt, Aizawa's arms wrapped loosely around her shoulders as they mutually leeched off the other's warmth.

[name] slipped out of his hold and left a scribbled note on a crumpled (but clean!) napkin she found in her pocket. It was only a brief thank-you and an invite to maybe go out sometime to show her gratitude for helping her work through it. She placed it on Aizawa's lap and managed to silently leave his apartment.

The day proceeded almost suspiciously normally. Her apartment was the same when she got back, except for a handwritten note on the coffee table. As soon as [name] realized it was from Elijah, she ripped it up without reading it and tossed the pieces in the trashcan.

She got ready as usual, fed the cats as usual, went to school as usual.

After the events of the night before, it didn't feel right to walk around her daily business. The turmoil that spun her heart around like clothes in a washing machine told her that she wasn't supposed to feel fine, but here she was-- feeling.. fine.

Classes went by quickly, [name]'s mind occupied by the day before. She was sure that a couple of the more intuitive students probably figured out that something was wrong with her, but no one ever approached to ask if she was alright. She was thankful for that, really, because she wasn't sure how she would answer.

Besides homeroom, which she ended up not speaking to him for the duration of, [name] saw Aizawa for the first time during lunch. Her first reaction was embarrassment, but after seeing Aizawa's composed face, she shook it off. Clearly there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Feeling better?" He asked simply when it was only the usual four in the teacher's office. Kayama and Yamada seemed engrossed in their own conversation enough that he didn't worry that they would have to explain it to them.

[name] nodded. "Yeah. Thanks again." She paused and her hand drifted to her pocket absentmindedly. "I haven't heard from Elijah besides a note I didn't read. It almost feels like everything was a dream. It's too... quiet."

Aizawa fiddled with his chopsticks as he raised a bite of his lunch to his lips. "Do you still have the letter from your brother?" He asked. He didn't hesitate, preferring to ask the question like ripping off a band-aid.

"I do." Her answer was equally simple as his question, the emotion behind the statement lost to Aizawa's ears (if there any to begin with).

"I think you should read it." Aizawa didn't meet her eyes as he suggested it, acting nonchalant despite the semi-serious subject matter. If Kayama and Yamada heard the shift in tone, they would want to know what was going on and frankly, Aizawa didn't believe it would be fair to make [name] explain her painful story two days in a row. She should do it on her own time. "For, closure, I guess. You have no idea what he wants to say. He cared enough to find a way to contact you, didn't he?"

[name] swallowed, reluctantly nodding in agreement. "You're right. It's... selfish... of me to not read it." Her fingers traced a rectangle outline over her pants pocket. "It's just hard."

Aizawa shrugged. "I know I'm not like Nemuri or Hizashi, but I'm still here for you. I'm not good with words or whatever, but. Y'know. I'll try."

She couldn't help but grin softly at his words, her chest feeling warm as gratitude and comfort washed over her in waves. "Thanks, Aizawa."

Kayama, sitting at her own desk as she conversed with Yamada about the upcoming festival, glanced over at the chatting 1-A teachers. She quirked an eyebrow at the gentle smile that floated across [name]'s lips, not entirely sure that she had ever seen her smile like that before. Kayama blinked at the pair. "Yamada," She caught his attention so that he would stop talking for a moment.

Yamada stopped in the middle of his sentence. He traced Kayama's eyes to [name] and Aizawa, humming in confusion. He didn't understand what she was looking at.

"Something happened between them, don't you think?" Kayama wondered out loud, purposing lowering her voice a bit so that if there was any chance that the two could hear her earlier, they couldn't now. "I mean," she sighed, "what a tender look..."

Blinking curiously, Yamada looked back at them again. He only noticed it because Kayama had pointed it out, but yes, both of them were wearing expressions that they didn't normally wear. [name] looked a bit more vulnerable than usual and Aizawa looked concerned. They were leaning into each other subconsciously, speaking in mildly low voices so that Kayama and Yamada could hear them but couldn't make out their words. "What do you think it was?" Yamada was rendered uncharacteristically quiet by the new information.

Yamada had been by Aizawa's side since they were first years. That was fifteen years. Yamada liked to think that he knew Aizawa better than just about everyone on the planet. If there was one thing he could say about Aizawa, it was that he didn't express his concern so openly. He preferred to show concern in the little things, like "did you get home safe" texts or reminders to do something that Yamada had nearly forgotten about. This facial expression on Aizawa was simply... bizarre.

He didn't know [name] as well. She had only been at Yuuei for a semester now, but he liked to think that he was good enough at reading people that he had a good grip on [name]'s personality. She was softer since she started at Yuuei, but she still tended to look tough even when everyone knew she wasn't. If he had to guess, Yamada would say that probably spawned from a past incident, or perhaps it was merely a thing like All Might's smile. Regardless, he was sure that he had never seen her look as open than as she did for that lasting moment with Aizawa.

Kayama hummed as [name] and Aizawa turn away from each other again and back to their individual lunches. Their faces return to their resting states and their voice seem to change tense as they raised and the words drifted to Kayama and Yamada. They had started chatting about some of the student's grades, the moment of softness gone. "I don't know." She shrugged and went back to her lunch. "Whatever it is, I'm cheering them on."

a/n: hmm 🤔🤔

this is kinda a filler chapter to just put some barrier between the drama that just happened and the drama that's coming lol buT it's also where kayama and yamada start suspecting the reader and aizawa have feelings for one another. YES, they are the wingman types and NO aizawa&reader would probably not get together if it weren't for them.