For Her | Sequel to 'Number 7' | Aizawa x OC Fanfic

Twenty Four: Will You Hold Me When It Gets Hard?

Bakugo was fine- he had survived and was moving around as if he hadn't been stabbed unconscious. Mirko had survived as well, but she was missing an arm and bandaged up from her battle with the several Nomus that were trying to protect Shigaraki. Ryuko had been injured, but not as badly as Endeavor or Aizawa. The only one who hadn't woken up yet was Midoriya, who was bandaged head to toe from his battle with Shigaraki. Still, he was alive.

Utterly exhausted, I opened the door to the dorm and pushed Aizawa inside. Toshinori stood at the counter making lunch for Eri as Echiko sat in her high chair shoveling baby food into her mouth with her hands.

Eri was the first to greet us, hopping out of her chair and running for us.

"You're okay!" She yelled in euphoria, throwing her arms around Shota's neck first and then hugging me around my waist.

"Hi, sweetheart." I greeted her, stooping down to give her a proper hug. She mumbled something into me that I couldn't hear, prompting Aizawa to speak.

"You gotta speak up, honey, Akiyasu can't hear you."

She pulled away and looked me in my face, concern written on her little face. "What happened?" She asked.

Stroking her hair, I gave her a soft smile. "I bumped my head and it hurt the inside of my ears. But they'll heal eventually, it'll be okay."

She accepted this before turning her attention back to Aizawa. Her eyes studied his leg, sadness behind her eyes as she understood what she was looking at. Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around herself, her eyes glimmering with large tears. "Am I going to lose you guys?"

Both Shota and I were taken aback by her words, unable to speak for a second, so she continued.

"You keep getting more hurt. Both of you. I don't want to lose you, too." Silent tears spilled over her cheeks, her voice steady as she cried up at us.

"Come here." I instructed her, opening my arms. She did as she was told, allowing me to fold her into my arms again. Kissing the side of her head, I smoothed her white hair down. "You know Shota and I will always fight to come back to you. Always. We're not going anymore anytime soon. We'll be here as long as you need us, okay?"

She turned her head to look up at me. "What if you die but I'm still here?"

"Didn't you hear me? If we die, it's because you'll be all grown up. Then, you won't need us anymore."

Eri contemplated this, turning to look at Shota, who offered her a gentle smile. Taking a deep breath, her eyes found mine once more. "I think I'll always need you."

I sighed, rubbing her back with care. "It can feel that way. I lost my mom not very long ago. I thought I'd never be able to go on without her. But I'm doing it, aren't I?"

Eri only cuddled further into me, holding me tighter. "You promise you won't go until I'm ready?"

"I promise."

~Time Skip~

Later that night, I had helped Aizawa onto the couch and curled up beside him, resting my head on his shoulder as we watched a news station report on everything that was happening around us. It was absolute chaos, but we knew better than to show up in our conditions. Aizawa twirled a piece of my hair around his finger before he gently scratched my scalp, soothing me with ease.

For a while, we stayed like that, the girls both asleep and the tv volume low. I found that just having the television on relaxed me a bit. When it was dark and quiet, I knew I would have to face the emotions of the day that I hadn't had time to face. Truthfully, I was keeping it at bay, not wanting to feel anything I knew was going to hurt.