"Bird."
"...what..?" Kota responded confused. They sky has gotten noticably darker, during their small flight the concept of time completely went out of the window. Literally. The entire flight was mostly silent aside for Kota's random giggles and commentary.
One thing was for sure though, Kota was genuinely happy right now. After what seemed like a century, he has finally managed to feel that fuzzy feeling again.
But for Eilir, things weren't as simple. He could sense Kota was not sad, even without seeing his face he could pick up on his emotions. But for some reason his mind was confused. Why did the corners of his face seem to ache? What was this weird sensation fluttering in his chest? And why did he not feel scared by it?
He spent his entire life living based off pure instinct. It was hard to tell but anxiety and caution dictated his entire being. But lately after moving into UA he hasn't had to worry about that.
There is no more fretting over not having a warm place to sleep or worrying about if the rain will damage his wings. Food is no longer a concept of anxiety for him. While he does eat a lot and tend to hoard it, its mostly because the small non-human part of him is still worried that it may not be there later.
Oh, that's what this is.
Joy.
The ache in his face is from his smile that he didn't even know he could make.
The fluttering in his chest? From the feeling of excitment he hasn't known before.
Without even realizing it, he has slowly grown more secure in his new enviroment as he adapted. Maybe Nezu had a reason for not taking him in. Nezu knew he could not offer Eilir the one thing he needed most, people who love him.
As Eilir slowly tied thoughts together he completely forgot about the bird he mentioned seconds before. And before the two children knew it, two arms were wrapped around them.
--------------------
"Why in the world would you think its a good idea to go flying outside by yourself?!" Aizawa exclaimed while rubbing his temples. He could practically feel his blood sugar spike from everything that has been going on.
Kota and Eilir stood hand to hand with their heads hung low. A look of shame was plastered on Kota's face, on the way back to UA Tokoyami scolded the two boys about their behavior. And in doing so Kota learned about how Eilir was recently kidnapped. The guilt of knowing that something bad could have happened to his crush due to his lack of maturity finally began to weigh down on him.
Ever since his parent's getting sent into a coma he has been acting however he pleased. And Kota acknowledged that. But in doing so he also ignored all the real life danger going on around him.
He didn't even consider the fact that they were both just small children who could barely tie their shoes... or at least one small child who even knew what shoe laces were.
As Kota was having a small mental crisis about how important safety and life is, Eilir stared at his toes as he moved each one individually. Aizawa's nagging was nothing new, and honestly barely made any sense to him. If it wasn't about food then who cares?
In the midst of the lecture, the three failed to hear the window above them slowly crack open. A curt whistle caused the stressed teacher to finally look away. "Come on Ai, give the kids a break. By time I was their age I was practically living on the streets...no pun intended." The familiar smell of green tea wafted into the room.
Two tiny heads quickly turned around so fast they almost got whiplash. What could they say? Uncle Zee was their favorite person. Not only did he always have snacks, but he also actually knew how to raise a child. Unlike the students. Or some of the heroes. Most of the heroes.
The teenager swiftly wrapped his arms around the two children, "make your best puppy eyes." He whispered quietly to them. Not even a second later Kota and Eilir were both staring up at the tired pro-hero with the saddest look they could muster.
"See Ai, they kids feel bad enough already! Let them off the hook this once, besides I think a certain someone is still locked in the basemen-"
"What do you mean? All of the students are counted fo- SHIT MIDORIYA!" The number of grey hairs on Aizawa's head increased dramatically as he raced towards the locked basement. Seemingly forgetting about the lecture he was giving seconds earlier.
A snort left Kota's lips as he watched the teacher disappear down the hallway. The amusement was quickly wiped off his face as he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.
"I do believe it is a little late for you to be staying up, hm?" Zihao questioned while glancing at the clock on the wall. "Unless you want to wait for Ai to come back and scold you more of course. Actually, I believe Hu might want to say a few word-"
"NO! I'LL GO TO SLEEP I SWEAR!" His eyes buldged from his head. Kota frantically shook his head before waving bye and escaping down to his room. He could see the look of sastifaction in Hu's eyes now if he was allowed to scold the boy.
E
ilir's eyes somehow found themselves trained on the ground once again. These new feelings were slightly overwhelming. Too many thoughts, too many sensations, too many everything. He couldn't make sense of it all. He couldn't make sense of any of it in fact. It was like he was just handed a box of his favorite snacks and was told he could only have one.
A knowing look passed by Zihao's face. How could he not understand how the kid was feeling? He was thrown into a similar situation, the only difference is that he only had Hu to worry about. He couldn't fathom dealing with twenty plus people who suddenly were thrown at you.
A warm hand ruffled Eilir's locs gently. "Don't try to solve it all at once, you can take it slow. No one will rush you kid. Just keep eating and sleeping, okay?" Zihao said in a soft voice.
Eilir allowed the words to sink in for a moment before nodding. "I can't understand, but I will. Mhm. I have help now, lots of it. Lots and lots." He nodded once more to reassure himself. He could do this. He was sure. After all, he was still growing.
Ignore any grammar mistakes, I use my laptop to help me correct any that appear but seeing as how it hurts to move I'm just doing it from my phone. I also wrote this right after my surgery so theres that
The next chapter will be better
<3
I also forgot if Zihao was doing something during this part of the book so if he was busy, ignore it please or I will cry
If you can't tell most of my stories have a theme of learning to embrace your inner child and how different people heal their's. So yeah :) I can have sweet meanings sometimes