Infectious

ch. 46

Chapter Forty Six;;- The Other Point of View

Aizawa led Elmer to the teacher's dorms in silence. Elmer was still carrying [name] on his back, her face not visible as she had buried it in the crook of his neck. Elmer spent the entire walk looking around the campus with wide, curious eyes as he drank in all the sights they possibly could.

When they arrived at [name]'s apartment, Aizawa felt around for the spare key that [name] had told him she kept at the top of her doorway, careful to crouch down before he opened it to stop the cats from sprinting out the door as soon as they were able to. He wordlessly ushered Elmer into the apartment, replacing the spare key and shutting the door.

By the time he was finished, Elmer had already found the bedroom and dropped [name] off in the queen-sized mattress. He carefully untied her boots and set them down by the foot of the bed, covering her with a fluffy purple comforter and smiling as she subconsciously snuggled into it.

"I got her that blanket as a birthday present when she turned sixteen," Elmer whispered, stepping back from the bed and tearing his gaze away from [name] to meet Aizawa's eyes.

Aizawa shoved his hands in his pockets, turning away from the bedroom and finding his way to one of [name]'s armchairs. "You're Elmer, aren't you?" He asked, moving his hand as Weird Bug nudged it. Instead of keeping eye contact with Elmer, Aizawa watched Weird Bug as he curled up on his lap.

Elmer nodded. "Elmer [surname]. Or, wait, it's the other way around for Japan. Um... just call me Elmer..." He trailed off, averting his eyes as well. Bebus jumped up on the couch next to where Elmer sat down and Elmer stroked her head with two fingers. "How much has [name] told you about me?"

Shrugging noncommittally, Aizawa scratched between Weird Bug's ears. "About you specifically, not much. About everything else, more." He hesitated, pondering the questions that had arisen in his mind since he first heard [name]'s story. There was so much that he could ask Elmer right now. But that seemed wrong. Without [name] knowing, Aizawa would not ask personal questions about her. "Tell me about your quirk."

"Sure," Elmer agreed surprisingly quickly. He pointed towards his eyes, the constantly shifting pools of color. "It's called Pathokinesis. It's the ability to manipulate emotions at the simplest. It's not an accurate name though, because in reality, I just alter the chemicals and hormones in people's brains to make them feel whatever emotion I want them to feel. To make [name] sleep, I raised the level of melatonin in her body until she fell asleep." He shrugged. "I have to be touching a person though, and my eyes will change color according to the emotion that corresponds to what I'm manipulating."

Aizawa nodded when Elmer finished. He couldn't think of what to say next, so instead of answering he remained quiet.

Elmer, it seemed, couldn't handle the silence for long. "If [name] really did tell you about pretty much everything, then I think I ought to say thanks. She's never been emotionally dependent on anyone. Elijah and I were supports for her, sometimes, but she never considered us real pillars that she could always lean on. Her relationships have always been..." Elmer's cheeks flushed pink, "physical... so they always ended pretty fast. But she depended you enough to tell you her story, something I'm sure she would have previously guarded with her life." Elmer smiled gently as Bebus butted her head into his hand. "Please continue to let [name] lean on you in the future."

Aizawa resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Elmer's obvious reluctance to say what he meant about [name]'s past relationships. "Okay," he murmured, tucking his chin into his scarf.

"She should be getting up soon." Elmer kept his eyes trained on his watch, listening to the ever-so quiet ticks that it emitted in the quiet room-- silent except for the watch and the purring of Weird Bug.

As if on cue, there was some shuffling from inside the bedroom and a moment later, [name] appeared in the doorway. Her hair was somehow already tousled and she had changed out of her hero costume and into a t-shirt that went half-way down her thighs and fuzzy mid-calf socks. Seeing Aizawa and Elmer in her living room didn't seem to phase her, nor did being pantless in either of their presences.

She flopped down onto the empty armchair, raising her arms as Meatball slithered out from his hiding place (wedged between the wall and the couch) and found a home in the excess fabric of her shirt. "You want to say something, don't you, Elm?" Her voice was tinged with sleep, but its flat tone held nothing back-- she was fully aware of what was happening.

Elmer's eyes slid over to Aizawa, then back to [name], posing the silent question.

[name] waved her hand dismissively and shrugged. "There's nothing I'm worried about him knowing." She slouched down in her chair, tangling her fingers in Meatball's fur. "Just say what you want to."

"Um... I'm sorry for using your friend against you. It was wrong to use Elijah as a middle man, and I hope you don't hold any grudges against him-- he genuinely enjoys being in your life again." Elmer paused, gathering his thoughts. "I know you didn't read the letter. It's not... too important now that I'm here. I just wanted to still be in touch with you. Our parents and brother be damned, you're the most important member of my family, and I would rather be hated by all of them than not talk to you. I want you to meet my fiancée and when I have kids I want them to know their aunt." He tucked his hands in his lap, meeting [name]'s eyes pleadingly. "It may be selfish, but please... Come to my wedding."

Tucking strands of messy hair behind her ear, [name] sighed. "Elmer, of course I want to be in your life. I fuckin' love you." She rested her cheek on her palm and broke the eye contact. "I've got a life though, so... I'll have to see what I can work out about your wedding."

Elmer jumped up, startling Bebus off of his knee. He pumped his fist in the air, elated grin on his lips. "Awesome!" He did a little dance.

"Dork," [name] muttered under her breath.

a/n: ok listen... the chapter is short but yall... there's some good shit comin' trust me.

bad news, i have like the next fifteen chapters vaguely planned and uhh the first big relationship thing is ~ch 49 but then there's just about nothing until ~ch 54 so uh.... maybe i should add "slow burn" as a tag for this story. literally this is like the slowest burn i've ever written.