Kumo

Chapter 5

He should leave.

He knew he should. It was getting too dangerous. If either of them connected his injury to the time of Kumo's disappearance, there was no doubt that they'd want him in jail.

He should just pack up his things and leave in the middle of the night, while Aizawa was on his patrol. Yamada would be passed out upstairs. It'd be easy.

But every time he pulled out his bags, he stopped. He just couldn't bring himself to do it. Aizawa and Yamada took him in, even when they didn't need to. He had to pay them back somehow. Maybe he'd make them dinner. He couldn't really move around easier until his cast was off, so it'd have to wait.

Yeah. That was  it. He totally wasn't in denial. Totally not. Denial? Never heard of her.

He was getting his cast off in two weeks. He could wait that long. Until then, he could sweeten them up and see if he could stay an extra night or two. They both had pretty busy schedules, whereas Izuku was stuck inside all day. Maybe he could clean the place while they were gone. He usually finished his school work by two and gave himself an hour long break before finishing up any assignments.

Yamada always told him to leave the dishes, that he'd do them after they got back from work. But despite his excitable personality, Izuku saw how drained Yamada was after interacting with teenagers all day. He could use a break.

That was where Izuku found himself; standing in the kitchen as he loaded the dishwasher. He was in the middle of placing a bunch of cups inside when Aizawa trudged into view, head moving back and forth. He stopped when his tired eyes found Izuku.

"How's the house hunting going?" he asked, leaning against the kitchen island as he observed Izuku.

Izuku swallowed, not expecting the question. It was bound to come up sooner or later, but he had no answer. "As good as it can," he lied, turning his face away from Aizawa. The man was no lie detector, but he could read body language pretty well. "Not a lot of places are willing to take in a parentless child."

He braved a glance at the underground hero. He typed on his phone before sliding the device into his pocket. "Recovery Girl gets back from her vacation in a few days." Wow great change in subject. "If you want we can swing by U.A. and have her finish healing your leg. I'm sure you have places to be."

"Totally!" Izuku faked an enthusiastic grin. "That'd be great. Thank you, Aizawa-san."

Aizawa didn't move from his spot. Instead, it seemed like his tired glare was reading the kid, trying to get a sense of what he was really thinking. Izuku swallowed, being the first to remove their gaze from the other. He went back to loading the dishes.

He let out a breath of relief when he heard the man turn and walk away. All the tension set in his shoulders dropped, and he felt himself relax. It wasn't like the man was intimidating. Actually, intimidating didn't even begin to cover it. It was like he was constantly observing every possible detail, constantly reading those around him. Izuku supposed it came with the job.

It had taken him nearly two weeks to feel comfortable enough around Aizawa to sit on the couch during his free time instead of hiding in his room. It took him even longer to be able to get enough courage to sit on the couch while Aizawa was also sitting on it, let alone sleeping on it.

It didn't help that Izuku never knew what the man was feeling. Sure, he could tell when something was serious and he had to leave the room. He knew how tired he was after work based on how sluggish his body moved. But that man never had any emotions on his face. Izuku wasn't even sure how Aizawa felt about him staying with them.