Freeze Frame: One-Shots

Pan in Panic

When Ibara Shiozaki had first walked into Lillian's cat cafe, the freckled teen hadn't expected to get a crush on her. But one thing led to another, and they started talking when Shiozaki came in a second, third, and then fourth time. Shiozaki always had on a UA uniform, which made for a good point of conversation to start off of. She had long hair made out of beautiful green vines, and was always studying and drinking herbal tea. She was incredibly nice and sweet, and had made a real effort to get to know Lillian. Of course Lillian would go and catch feelings! It was just the way she was! She'd tried-- really, she had-- to not. But then Ibara said something about liking her and her company, and now Lillian was too far gone.

Lillian had never had a full blown crush before. She didn't interact with people her own age enough to just suddenly catch feelings. Not like the singular friend her age did. Her first kiss had been with him, and it had been an experience. Of course they were completely platonic, but you did a lot of dumb things when you were eleven and sleep deprived. Now he was gay, and Lillian told herself it wasn't all because of her. Even if it, you know, probably was. She was repulsive enough for it.

"Midterms are coming up. I'm sure she's just stressed, kid." Aizawa came to Lillian's cat cafe everyday without fail, sometimes with Gunhead, and sometimes without. He'd grown incredibly fond of Lillian, and the freckled girl had come to trust him immensely. Now, she sat down and chatted with him about the simple woes of her life. This was the first time pretty much ever that she'd had something even relatively serious to fret over. Aside from that one time a cat managed to get into the vents and Lillian was the only one small enough to fit inside, but then it couldn't hold her weight and she fell through the ceiling and took Aizawa out with her. At least the at was fine, but the other customers definitely had something to gawk at.

"Yeah! Midterms are a stressful time. After they've passed, I'm sure she'll be back." Gunhead assured. Lillian didn't feel hopeful, but couldn't help but daydream a bit. She and Ibara had seen each other almost everyday for a solid month: chatting, laughing, and just getting to know each other. During that time, it had never occurred to Lillian to ask for her phone number, and now she was paying for it. Was Ibara okay? Was she sick? Was her studying going well? Lillian didn't know, and it was making her more anxious than she usually was.

"I-I don't know." Lillian averted her eyes, cheeks flushing. "What if I did something t-to upset her?" 

"It's only been a week, Lillian. I'm sure it's not that." Gunhead promised nicely, reaching over and patting Lillian's head. Lillian groaned, burying her face in her arms. Maybe Ibara had just found another place to study that had better tea and muffins. It's not like she could very well study in peace with Lillian buzzing around like some annoying little fly. Was the freckled girl too persistent? Had she somehow managed to come on too strong despite not having the courage to look a stranger in the eye for more than half a second?

Aizawa frowned, sharing a look with his friend. He'd come to know Lillian quite well. He'd met her almost a full five years ago when she was ten years old and just learning how to manage a shop. She'd been determined and not the best baker, but she'd been so sweet that he couldn't help but stick around. He'd been one of her only customers, and incredibly patient. He'd watched her grow up to an extent, and didn't like seeing her upset. At all. In fact, he was pretty sure this was triggering some deep primal instinct in him that told to protect his young. Even if she wasn't really his. Ish. Okay, so maybe he had a third of the custody on a moral level since he and Lillian hung out so much.

Lillian's parents didn't like Aizawa, but a single withering look from their daughter was enough for them to ignore his presence. Shota didn't know why they didn't like him. They'd glare and just generally seemed to dislike him being in Lillian's cafe. They never said why or anything either, or voiced their opinions. Maybe they thought he was being creepy, a man his age befriending their daughter. Even though he'd reassured them time and time again that he was a certified teacher and just thought their daughter was a determined and inspiring young woman, nothing curbed their sour thoughts. Aizawa clearly didn't give two shits seeing as he was still here.