Chapter 1

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———

"No you fucking don't," Aizawa practically barked, his quirk flaring as his glare fixated on the Izuku kid; whose hand was on the door knob leading outside.
He had this childlike innocence in his eyes, tipping on his toes in an effort to twist the knob to open the door.
His big orbs were suddenly drawn to the "scarf" snaking along the air, twisting around him like a serpent and gently pulling him away from the exit. He didn't fight as his shined school shoes were off the ground, the cloth-like material ruffling his bright neon orange shirt pulled away once Aizawa was satisfied between the distance between the doorway and Izuku.

Ever since the kid has been introduced to his apartment, he had been drawn to the outside realm; especially (and unfortunately) at night. It was like there was a beacon outside shining just for Izuku; calling out to him and coaxing him gently outside.
The kid was.. Quiet. Alarmingly so. Aizawa would have thought he was mute until he heard soft murmurings from the room he provided Izuku; figuring it sounded somewhat like a prayer. It would have been fine; hadn't he heard it in the middle of the night. The aura around the kid was overall unsettling, and if Aizawa hadn't seen his calm and tranquil behavior, he would've thought of Izuku as a spawn of hell.

Izuku stood beside him in the kitchen, large glassy and curious eyes looked up to him. 'He was too small,' Aizawa's thoughts swam in his head. The kid held himself up confidently, his blank expression slightly creeped Aizawa out. How could the kid manage that kind of look?

"Need something?," He finally huffed out, turning to his cutting board as he sliced the pieces of meat in perfect cubes. He wasn't necessarily annoyed, and was actually relieved that Izuku hadn't been making a fuss. And the kid knows how to deliver his own needs to himself as long as he can; only requesting help if he couldn't reach a glass from Shouta's high cupboard. He was independent. The only thing that absolutely ticked him off is his determination to go outside; since this was the fourth time he tried to slip out without Shouta looking.

"I'm hungry, Aizawa-Senpai." Shouta's eye twitched as he spared a glance at the small figure beside him. He was slightly surprised he talked out of no where; almost assuming the orphan was mute.
Two wide, curious eyes focused on him, the slight glimmer of expectancy under the lush color of bright green made him sigh softly and rub his temple. He didn't have a headache, he just did it out of habit every time someone asks him a favor.

The kid's voice was hushed, but he could hear the smoothness of his voice, kind of like when a mother soothes down a crying child; the tenderness in his voice felt somewhat comforting. "I'm cooking some ramen. Go to the bathroom and grab a towel. I'll help you bath before we eat." Shouta instructed him clearly, trusting the fact he had shown him around the house a moment ago. He'll probably know where the bathroom is anyway.

"Okay." His reply was simple, and Aizawa waited for the thumping of his feet on the wooden floors when he ran out the kitchen, but nothing came. Was he staring at him again?
He sighed, before turning to his side blindly to usher him to the room where the towels were found. He really can't deal with the stress right now; and having to take care of a child was completely out of his daily routine. The only reason he agreed to do this was because they raised his pay check a significant amount; and promised to provide the clothes and whatnot for the kid. All Shouta needed to do was care for his basic needs.

"The bathroom is at-" Shouta stopped, staring at the empty space beside him. Huh? Wasn't Izuku just right there? Did he leave already?
He should've heard the potter patter of feet or the old, creamy wooden floor, groaning under his light weight.

Strange.

He shut the lid on the boiling noodles and beef when he heard the water tap open and sounds of splashing coming from the bathroom just down the hall.

————-

"Hold still," Aizawa ordered, his tone lacking the usual bite as he tugged at the knots in Izuku's hair.
Izuku complied without a word, sitting in the bathtub obediently as he splashed the soapy water. He was lucky that he ended up with a fairly compliant kid, following his directions with no bickering or hesitance. Further more, the kid displayed the fact that he was impossibly mature for his age.

Aizawa smoothed our the tangled mattes in his hair, his arms slightly sore as he thoroughly washed the grim out of Izuku's hair; wondering if the kid ever even received a haircut due to his thick locks. He figured no; considering the vast population of his shelter. There was simply not enough time to give the proper amount of care to each individual child in such a secluded and over populated area.

He finally untangled his fingers from Izuku's hair, satisfied with his work as he proceeded to stand up (legs shaking since he has been crouching for over thirty minutes now. It ached.) and grab the lavender loofah resting by the shelf.
For once, he was at ease.
He didn't know why, but he, even though he'll never openly admit it, likes the presence of this kid. He had a calming, serene aura that had a radius of twenty meters. It was different from the cold atmosphere around him in the beginning of their meeting.

And plus, he wasn't a pain in the ass like Shouta anticipated him to be.

He lathered the loofah with soap, nudging Izuku's back that was leaning on the rim of the tub gently. "Face me kid." The light smell of vanilla and roses made his nose scrunch up. It was definitely the liquid soap that he had soaked the sponge in.

Izuku turned around, arms leaning on the rim as he looked up at Shouta, eyes gleaming. Aizawa tugged his arm, making him stretch it as he gently scrubbed his soft skin, getting rid of the grime and dirty flecks of soot from him.
It left pinkish-red marks on the sensitive skin, and Shouta reminded himself not to scrub too hard.

———-

"There." He murmured, fitting the pink-blue striped shirt on Izuku; which was adorably a size bigger than him. Courtesy of Nedzu; of course.

Izuku smiled up at him as Shouta stretched his limbs, groggily getting up from kneeling on the floor; the wooden boards creaking from putting in the effort to support his weight.

They were in Shouta's bedroom; seeing it was more comfortable than the cold spare room he told Izuku to use. His room was pretty big; with a twin sized bed, a desk, a window beside his bed (with flower curtains Hizashi gifted him), a bookshelf, and a closet.

Oh, and that small flower-shaped cactus by his desk. Fun fact, but he had tried to take care of something besides a cactus; and it never got past it's sprouting stage.

The walls were colored a simple bland white, since Shouta didn't seem to even think of redecorating, much less painting the walls. The floor was just carpeted, which he scrubbed vigorously every two months. It proved to be a pain, but he was too lazy to remove it.

He looked at Izuku, who was just sitting beside his foot, legs outstretched as he waited for another order. Shouta started to think he was some kind of robot now.
Izuku tilted his head up, his eyes fixating on Aizawa before a small, timid smile made it's way on his face. "Aizawa-Senpai," He beamed, and Shouta swore he almost got blinded from how cute he was. Maybe kids weren't so bad after all.

"Take my hand. We're gonna eat downstairs. Do you like ramen?"

"Mhm!"

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