Deep Red

13

"Hello, my sweet little babies, did you miss me?" I cooed as soon as I stepped inside Aizawa's apartment. The cats already came running towards me and I giggled as I went down on my knees, so I could cuddle them properly. They were purring and meowing, waiting for me to feed them.

I had been looking forward to this all day. I was looking forward to this every day, to be honest. Well, every day since I had gotten the keys. I put my bag down beside the couch and went over to the fridge to get some more cat food. I wouldn't get any peace and quiet before I had fed those two.

They had quickly caught up to me and were yet again walking around in-between my legs, purring and cuddling up to me. I smiled down at them and started giving them their food, Mana first and Cho later. (Cho had been complaining loudly about this since day one of this arrangement, but I figured since Cho was merely a guest in Aizawa's apartment, Mana should get her food first.)

Once I was done and the cats were busy chewing down their food, I looked around the place. I still had the towel hanging over one of Aizawa's chairs. Actually, there were a good few dishes in the sink. The whole place looked like it could do with some work. I still felt kind of bad for just using Aizawa's place as a hang-out spot and for dumping my cat on him, so I figured I could make myself a little more useful.

With a sigh I gathered up the towel from the chair and threw it over my bag. I'd take it home and wash it, anything else would be really cheeky. Next, I went over to the sink and started doing all the dishes that had been left in there. They were really starting to pile up. I wondered if Aizawa let them pile up there until he had a day off. Did that man ever have a day off in his life?

Once I was done with the dishes, I decided to pick up some food wrappers from the floor and bin them, as well as loads of takeaway boxes. I honestly wasn't surprised that Aizawa lived off of junk food and take away, I was already struggling to not do that every day and I figured that I got way more sleep than him.

It had gotten quite late once I had finished all that and I felt seriously exhausted. I checked my phone and it was still early enough for me to have a quick nap on the couch. Aizawa would probably be super late anyway. I could have a 20 minute nap and still make it out of his place before he got home.

I walked over to the couch and laid down, pulling the blanket halfway over my body. I took out my phone to set an alarm, so I'd definitely wake up early enough, but I was just so... tired...

"Hey. Wake up." was the next thing I heard. I startled and quickly sat up, which messed up my circulation. Everything went black before my eyes and it took me a while to actually adjust to sitting up.

"What the... where the fuck... Aizawa?" I mumbled, trying to get my thoughts in order. I looked down at the phone in my hands. Oh yeah. I wanted to set a timer. Looks like I forgot. Shit.

"What are you still doing here?" he wanted to know. His face seemed completely devoid of emotion and I wasn't sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing. I absentmindedly started petting Cho who was sitting next to me.

"Sorry, Aizawa, I was super tired and decided to have a little nap. Looks like I fell asleep before I managed to set an alarm. I'll be out in a minute, just give me some time to wake up." I replied.

"What's up with the dishes? And why is everything so... orderly?" he wanted to know. I shrugged and got up from the couch.

"Figured I could make myself useful. Especially since you'll probably struggle with that kinda stuff with your arms being bandaged and all." I replied and picked up the towel and my bag from the floor.

It made me nervous that I couldn't really see Aizawa's face, but his eyes looked like he was trying to be angry, but couldn't. I mean, I was absolutely right. He would be struggling doing all that with two broken arms. Dude couldn't even apply his eye drops this afternoon, so dishes were out of the question.

"Thanks. I guess. I'd be mad, if you weren't right about me having trouble with all that. It wasn't necessary, though." he then replied quietly.

"Hey, the cats were still eating. And I did use your shower and borrow your shirt." I answered and shrugged.

"Yeah, I suppose. Thanks, anyway." he said, sitting down on the couch, as I made my way to the door.

"No problem. Is there... anything else you need help with?" I asked him, as I watched him get up from the couch and limp towards the kitchenette. He should not have left the hospital, but it was too late for that now.

"Uh... no, not really." he answered, his eyes wandering towards the bathroom door. I raised an eyebrow.

"You sure about that?" I wanted to know. He clearly did need help with something, but just didn't want to say it out loud.

"Well... are you going to wash that towel?" he asked. I looked down at the towel that I had borrowed in my hand.

"Yeah, I was gonna wash it with the shirt and give them both back to you. Why? Want me to wash some other stuff, too?"

"If you really don't mind." he said. I walked back inside and gave him a smile, while he was trying to get his kettle to work.

"I don't mind at all. No point doing a wash for just the shirt and the towel." I replied. He nodded.

"I had some laundry packed up in a bag in the bathroom. But only if you absolutely don't mind. I don't wanna bother you with anything." he said. He seemed almost embarrassed about this.

"Hey, it's not a bother at all. Do you know how grateful I was that you took Cho in? And then you gave me your spare keys and let me hang out at your place, I didn't expect that even a little. I owe you big time." I answered, as I made my way to the bathroom. I quickly found the bag with the laundry and packed the towel on top of it. When I made my way back outside, he was still fumbling around with the kettle. Man, life had to be tough when you couldn't use either of your arms.

"Are you trying to make coffee?" I wanted to know, after I had watched him for a short while. He gave me an exasperated sigh.

"Yeah, I'll be fine, I just need to get used to this..." he murmured. I chuckled a little and shook my head.

"Here, this is faster." I said, as I took the kettle out of his hands, filled it with cold water and started boiling it with my quirk. It took only a few seconds for the whole thing to get hot. I closed the lid and filled up the cup that Aizawa had placed on the counter. He was using some of that awful instant coffee, but I guess it was substantially faster than the coffee machine.

"There you go, Aizawa." I told him and gestured towards the cup. He looked down at it and then back at me.

"Your quirk comes in really handy at times like this, huh?" he asked. I just shrugged and glanced at my phone. Goddamn, it was late.

"I guess it does. I really should head home if I want to get the laundry done today." I replied and slowly made my way back towards the door. Aizawa nodded.

"Yeah, sure. Don't let me keep you. Thanks for helping out." he said to me. I opened the door and turned around to him with a smile.

"No problem. See you at school, Aizawa." I answered and waved at him quickly. Just as I was about to close the door I heard him say something.

"Shouta."

"Huh?" I asked, poking my head back inside the apartment. Aizawa was looking down at the floor and sighed.

"You can call me Shouta. Would be weird not to at this point." he repeated, not looking up at me. For some reason him saying that just warmed my heart and made me grin from ear to ear.

"Alright then, Shouta. Same goes for you. Like, not that you can call me Shouta, but... ugh, you know what I mean. It's too late for me to think." I replied. I could hear a muffled chuckle coming from him.

"Now get home, you gotta teach tomorrow. And you're not borrowing my sleeping bag." he said.

"Wow, rude. See you tomorrow." I said jokingly and closed the door behind me. I made my way downstairs quickly. If I could get the train in 10 minutes I'd make it home early enough to get the wash done just before 12.30 in the morning. Drying the clothes shouldn't take too long if I used my quirk. Which meant I'd get at least 5 hours of sleep.